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OT^D TIJVIES; 
 
 TENNESSEE HISTORY, 
 
 Cnuttsset §a^s aiii) (Sirls* 
 
 BY EDWIN PASCHALL. 
 
 liV TIIK-3BE BOO It® 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR 
 
 1SG9. 
 

 Entered, according to Aet of Congress, in the year 1S69, by 
 EDWIN PASCIIALL, 
 in the District Court of the United States for the Middle Dis- 
 trict of Tennessee. 
 
 1 
 
 STEREOTYPED AT THE SOUTHERN-' JJliTHODIST PUBLISniNG HOUSE, 
 NASHVILLE, TENN. 
 
/^ 
 
 9f 
 
 TO THE PUBLIC 
 
 Persons inclined to criticise this humble 
 work, are requested to observe, that it is not 
 entitled the, or even a, History of Tennessee ; 
 but only " Tennessee History." It prefers no 
 claim to original research or to completeness. 
 The author has relied upon extant histories for 
 materials, and from them has selected such 
 topics as seemed best suited to his design of 
 making a book which young persons, either 
 at school or at home, will read with pleasure 
 and profit. 
 
 A long experience in the school-room has 
 convinced him that the serial readers usually 
 put into the hands of pupils in our schools are, 
 in some essential points, ill-adapted for juvenile 
 reading. In the first place, they are frag- 
 
4 TO THE PUBLIC. ^ 
 
 mentary; being collections of pieces of every 
 variety, without relation to each other, except 
 that they are found in the same volume. Now, 
 what the young mind craves above all other 
 things is a narrative — a continuous story. This 
 fondness for narrative is manifested even in the 
 nursery, where nothing sooner quiets and pleases 
 a child than " to tell a tale." It prevails during 
 the whole period of intellectual growth, and 
 will be gratified, if nothing better is offered, 
 with the miserable fictions of " dime novels." 
 
 A farther objection to the serial school-books 
 in vogue, is found in the character of the selec- 
 tions with which they are filled. The first, and 
 perhaps the second, of the series may answer 
 well for the exercise of children merely learn- 
 ing to know words by sight. But the subse- 
 quent volumes are made up of "elegant ex- 
 tracts," in prose and verse, which none but men 
 and women of literary habits are qualified to 
 appreciate. Both in the subject-matter, and in 
 style of composition, they are quite beyond the 
 immature powers and uncultivated tastes of 
 
TO THE PUBLIC. 5 
 
 hoys and girls. Hence the reading of them is 
 a dull, hard task-work to those who are forced 
 through it, producing no better result than the 
 habit of not understanding y and consequent dis- 
 inclination to meddle with, books. By these 
 remarks, it is not intended to cast any blame 
 upon teachers, who employ the serial readers 
 from necessity, and because they cannot procure 
 more suitable works. 
 
 Impressed with these views, the author has 
 undertaken to supply a book which, both for 
 the nature of the subject and the simple style 
 in which it is treated, young persons will be in- 
 clined to read and able to understand. While 
 eschewing the nursery talk of Parleyism, he has 
 endeavored to avoid all words and phrases which 
 an intelligent boy of a dozen years may not 
 comprehend, especially with the help afforded 
 by the context of a continuous narrative. For the 
 purpose of adapting it to be read by classes in 
 schools, the book is divided into chapters of 
 suitable length for separate lessons ; and as far 
 as possible, each chapter is made to have a 
 
U TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 beginning and end of its own, without impair- 
 ing the connection and dependence of the whole. 
 
 While such is the primary object of the au- 
 thor, he indulges the hope that such a work will 
 prove both entertaining and instructive to that 
 large majority of adult persons in Tennessee 
 who have neither leisure nor inclination to read 
 larger histories; and that the story of the 
 struggles and hardships of the pioneers who 
 founded our noble State, may pleasantly and 
 profitably beguile winter evenings in the haj)py 
 families who, in peace and plenty, are enjoying 
 the fruits of their heroic toils. 
 
 Whether in all or in any of these purposes 
 he has been able to deserve success, is a ques- 
 tion referred to the indulgent judgment of his 
 countrymen, by their humble servant, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
BOOK I 
 
 EAST TENNESSEE. 
 
OLD TIIVEES; 
 
 OE, 
 
 TENNESSEE HISTORY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY, 
 
 A GREAT man once said, " Tennesseans are 
 bound to be true and brave from respect to their 
 ancestors." If so, then how necessary is it that 
 each successive generation of Tennesseans should 
 be made acquainted with those ancestors — 
 should understand their character and princi- 
 ples of action, and how they acquitted them- 
 selves in the scenes through which they were 
 called to pass. To assist the boys and girls, 
 who must soon become the men and women of 
 Tennessee, in acquiring this knowledge, this 
 little book has been prepared. It is intended 
 
 (9) 
 
10 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 to present to them a history of old tnnes in 
 Tennessee, at once pleasant to read and easy to 
 understand. 
 
 No other new country will ever be settled in 
 the same manner as was Tennessee. The in- 
 vention of steamboats, railroads, and telegraphs 
 has entirely changed the mode of proceeding in 
 such matters. Hence, the early population of 
 our State were placed in peculiar circumstances, 
 which naturally gave rise to singular character 
 and habits of life. The scenes of frontier life 
 on the Holston and the Cumberland have passed 
 away never to be repeated. Henceforth they 
 can be viewed only in their written history. 
 Curiosity alone should prompt a desire on the 
 part of Tennesseans to know who and what 
 sort were the men who, from 1770 to 1800, 
 made Tennessee what it has since been. But 
 there is yet a stronger and better reason why 
 we should look into the records of those old 
 times. 
 
 The men and women who planted and cher- 
 ished civil society in the "Western wilderness 
 must have been "true and brave," for no 
 others could have done it. "When our young 
 friends shall have read the accounts here given 
 of the dangers and hardships endured by the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 11 
 
 early settlers in Tennessee for thirty years, tliey 
 will agree with us, that a frontier cabin on 
 Watauga or Cumberland was not the place in 
 which to look for faithless and cowardly men. 
 True courage is not the less true, because it is 
 not displayed to the gaze of the world on the 
 broad battle-fields of Blenheim or "Waterloo ; 
 nor is public spirit less to be admired and 
 reverenced, because it is employed in defending 
 from savage massacre the women and children 
 of an humble colony in the backwoods. 
 
 The fidelity and courage of our ancestors 
 w^as proved, amid scenes of violence and blood, 
 in defending their liberties and lives against 
 British bayonets and Indian tomahawks. We 
 live in altered circumstances, and may hope 
 that, in our day, the horrors of war shall jiot 
 again reach our happy land. But should Provi- 
 dence grant us this peaceful destiny, w^e shall 
 not the less be bound to be " true and brave " 
 men and women. Our virtues must be exer- 
 cised in a different way, but they will remain 
 still equally essential to constitute our own 
 moral worth, and to promote the welfare and 
 progressive elevation of our country. 
 
 " He that is slow to anger is better than the 
 mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he 
 
12 OLD times; or, 
 
 that taketh a city." In the political and social 
 condition of our country at this time, there 
 is much room for the exercise of that modera- 
 tion and forbearance recommended in the pas- 
 sage of Scrijiture we have quoted. It is easy 
 to be violent and extreme, but only a " true and 
 brave man" will stand for the right against 
 popular delusions and the threats of powerful 
 factions. To advocate unpopular truth, and to 
 resist the clamors of a multitude persuading to 
 injustice, are the virtues which our times de- 
 mand, and to practice them to our own loss, 
 requires as great courage as to face a battery 
 of cannon. 
 
 You, young readers, will soon have the char- 
 acter of the State and the welfare of the people 
 in your own keeping. But you have no need to 
 wait for that time before you will be called upon 
 to show yourselves " true and brave." Without 
 faithfulness and firmness, you cannot be what 
 you should be now. Except by the exer- 
 cise of these virtues, you cannot fulfill your 
 present duties to yourselves, your parents, your 
 brothers and sisters, or even to your teacher and 
 school-fellows. If " true and brave " men and 
 women have always been the saviours of the 
 world, be assured that they were not false and 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 13 
 
 craven when they played football or worked 
 ^ samplers. 
 
 Most of the men you will read of in the 
 following pages had little education in schools, 
 many of them none. This was the fault of the 
 age in which they lived, wRen it w^as not so 
 common as it now is to enjoy the means of 
 education. Besides, the work in which they 
 were engaged, was such as could be done with 
 very little learning, and their praise is that they 
 did that work well. But you, our young friends, 
 live under a different set of circumstances. You 
 can now all have the advantages of mental cul- 
 tivation, and in the present state of the world, 
 you can hardly perform the full duty of good 
 citizens without a considerable share of intelli- 
 gence, such as must be derived from reading 
 and study. May you not fail to meet the 
 demands upon you in a manner worthy of Ten- 
 nesseans in the nineteenth century, and entitle 
 yourselves to be numbered among the "true 
 and brave " of the coming gener-ation ! 
 
14 
 
 CH-APTER II. 
 
 OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE. 
 
 The history of most civilized countries may 
 be divided into ancient and modern. Take 
 any of the principal nations of Europe — Great 
 Britain, France, or Russia, for instance — and 
 historians can give you a tolerably full and 
 correct account of what has happened in any 
 of them lately, especially since the art of print- 
 ing was invented, about four hundred years ago. 
 But when we go back beyond that time, the in- 
 formation we can get is more scanty and uncer- 
 tain, and the farther we go back, the more doubt- 
 ful every thing becomes, until we reach a point 
 of time beyond w^hich nothing is to be known. 
 The history of the Jews, as given in the Bible, 
 is perhaps the most ancient that is known to exist. 
 
 But Tennessee and the other States of the 
 American Union have no ancient history. There 
 is no history of the country at all that reaches 
 back beyond the time of its discovery and 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 15 
 
 settlement by white men from Europe. The 
 Indians that were then found wandering over 
 the country, did not understand the art of 
 printing or writing, nor did they possess any 
 other means of preserving the memory of the 
 events that had happened among them. On 
 this account we cannot expect to know any 
 thing about the people that had lived in Amer- 
 ica for thousands of years before it was discov- 
 ered by Columbus. Men of learning and in- 
 genuity have tried very hard, but in vain, to 
 know even a little in regard to the ancient his- 
 tory of this Continent. From several circum- 
 stances, it is pretty certain that America was 
 once inhabited by a people more civilized than 
 the Indians ; but who they were, or what be- 
 came of them, we shall probably never know. 
 
 The history of America, therefore, begins about 
 three hundred and fifty years ago, and is all 
 modern. The whole of it is found in printed 
 or written accounts, made out by persons w^ho had 
 personal knowledge of the various events that 
 have occurred ; and is, therefore, as much to be 
 depended on as any history of any country can 
 be. And as to Tennessee in particular, as a 
 separate community, its history is not a hundred 
 years old, since so long ago there was hardly a 
 
IG OLD times; or, 
 
 white man within the present boundaries of the 
 State. 
 
 Strange as it may seem to boys and girls, it 
 is yet true, that persons are now living in Ten- 
 nessee, who can remember when the whole 
 country was a wilderness. These persons can 
 tell you of the time when there were only a few 
 log cabins where the rich and splendid city of 
 Nashville now stands ; and when the land where 
 Murfreesborough is was covered with a cane- 
 brake, without even a cow-path leading through 
 it. The first white child born in Nashville — 
 Dr. Felix Robertson — died in 1864 ; and a lady 
 now living has told us that she was a grown 
 young woman when her father made the first 
 settlement in Rutherford county. Where our 
 railroads now run, the traveler, sixty years ago, 
 might think himself fortunate if he could find 
 a blazed path leading from one solitary settle- 
 ment to another. The grandchildren of that 
 generation probably do not know what is meant 
 by a blazed path. Do you know ? 
 
 Surrounded as the people of Tennessee now 
 are with all the comforts, and even the luxuries, 
 of life, it must be difiicult for them to imagine 
 how the early settlers of the country could con- 
 trive to live without any of them. Can our 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 17 
 
 young readers think how they could get along 
 hi a country without railroads, or turnpikes, or 
 roads of any sort ? without churches, or school- 
 houses, or dry-goods stores, or even mills to 
 grind corn? without bridges or ferry-boats to 
 cross the streams? How would they manage 
 ^to live without coffee, or tea, or sugar, and even 
 without bread or salt ? And yet, the first settlers 
 of Tennessee did manage to do without all these 
 things, and a great many others, that we are in 
 the habit of considering as necessary to com- 
 fortable living. How they actually did live, at 
 least in some particulars, will appear in the 
 course of this history. 
 
 It would require several large volumes to 
 contain all that is known of the early history 
 of Tennessee, or even so much of it as may be 
 found scattered through printed books. Of 
 course, we shall here attempt nothing of that 
 kind. Our aim is to tell enough to give to the 
 reader a clear and correct notion of the state of 
 things which existed here among the people 
 who cleared the canebrakes, and waged a suc- 
 cessful war against rattlesnakes and Indians. 
 AVe desire to present all that may serve to make 
 up a faithful picture of frontier life, and nothing 
 more. 
 
18 OLD times; oRj 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 As the territory composing the present State 
 of Tennessee was formerly a part of North 
 Carolina, it may be well to give, in this place, a 
 short account of the latter State. The " Old 
 North State," as it is frequently called, was 
 among the first of the English settlements in 
 America. According to the charter or deed 
 granted by the King of England, the province 
 was to front a certain distance on the Atlantic 
 Ocean, and to run back westwardly across the 
 Continent to the Pacific Ocean, which was then 
 called the South Sea. However, neither the 
 King of England nor any of his people was at 
 all acquamted with the country, except a few 
 spots along the sea-coast. 
 
 The first settlements in Carolina were made, 
 as a matter of course, in the eastern parts, and 
 near to the ocean, where the English ships 
 could reach them, and bring supplies and as- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 19 
 
 sistance when needed. The earliest permanent 
 settlement made by the English in the prov- 
 ince was in 1663 — two hundred and six years 
 ago. In process of time, as the settlers became 
 better acquainted with the interior of the coun- 
 try, new settlements were made at a greater dis- 
 tance from the sea. In the course of about a 
 hundred years, the population extended to the 
 Alleghany Mountains, which are now the west- 
 ern boundary of the State. But, except in some 
 choice spots, North Carolina has never been 
 very thickly settled ; and as much of the soil is 
 poor and unproductive, it is not likely to have 
 a dense population for a long time to come. 
 
 The first white inhabitants of Carolina were 
 probably all English ; but, in the course of 
 time, a great many Scotch, and Dutch, and 
 French, and Irish made it their home. In the 
 eastern part of the province, a large tract of 
 country w^as taken up by a clan of Scotch 
 Highlanders, and even thirty years ago some of 
 their descendants could scarcely speak the Eng- 
 lish language. The part of the country where 
 they live is commonly called the sand-hills. A 
 colony of Quakers from Pennsylvania planted 
 themselves in the western portion of the State, 
 and called their settlement New Garden. It is 
 
20 OLD times; or, 
 
 beyond dispute the best cultivated and most de- 
 lightful part of the State. 
 
 But there is another description of persons 
 among the early population of Carolina which 
 deserves a special notice, because many of the 
 first settlers of Tennessee were of that stock, as 
 well as many of the men most distinguished in 
 its history. I allude to the people called Scotch- 
 Irish. They took this compound name because 
 they were descended from Scotch families, who 
 had, in old times, left Scotland and settled in 
 Ireland. After awhile, a large body of them 
 moved from Ireland to Western Pennsylvania ; 
 and again, many of them went from Penn- 
 sylvania, and formed what is still known as the 
 Scotch-Irish settlement in Western Carolina. 
 
 The Scotch-Irish, who have not been much edu- 
 cated, or mixed much with the world, may gener- 
 ally be distinguished by certain peculiarities of 
 speech, such as Aprile, for April, etc. But all 
 of them are remarkable for their energetic and 
 thrifty habits, and for being able to take good 
 care of themselves. They are also particularly 
 jealous of power, and inclined to resist au- 
 thority. Those in Pennsylvania Avere at the 
 . head of the " Whisky Rebellion," when Wash- 
 ington was President ; and a similar outbreak, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 21 
 
 called the " Regulation," was gotten up by them 
 in North Carolina before the Eevolutionary 
 "War. James Buchanan, once President of the 
 United States, was a Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish- 
 man ; and in Tennessee, the names of Andrew 
 Jackson, James K. Polk, Hugh L. White, and 
 John Bell, may be referred to Carolina families 
 of the same stock. 
 
 Farther, in regard to the Scotch-Irish : they 
 are, or at least were originally, all Presbyterians. 
 Presbyterianism was the religion established by 
 law in Scotland, at the time they removed from 
 that country to the North of Ireland. The 
 people of Ireland were then, and are yet, mostly 
 Roman Catholics. Therefore, when a foreigner 
 tells you he is from the North of Ireland, you 
 may generally conclude that he is a Protestant 
 of the Presbyterian order; but if from any 
 other part of the island, you may expect to find 
 him a Catholic. Perhaps it is well to mention 
 here, that by Protestant, we mean all forms of 
 the Christian religion, except the Catholic. 
 Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians, are 
 Protestants, as well as the Presbyterians. 
 
22 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MORE ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 The different sorts of people who make up 
 ^ the population of North Carolina, as stated in 
 the last chapter, have mingled together until 
 the distinctions among them are mostly worn 
 off. But such Avas not the case at the time that 
 Tennessee began to be settled by them. Up to 
 that period, and even longer, the Highland 
 Scotch, the Scotch-Irish, the Quakers, and the 
 Dutch, continued to be almost as distinct in their 
 habits and manners as if they did not belong to 
 the same community. Even yet, they have not 
 been so completely amalgamated, or mixed to- 
 gether, as in most other States, for which a rea- 
 son will presently be given. 
 
 On the sea-coast of North Carolina there are 
 no good harbors ; that is, there are no places 
 where the water is deep and still close up to the 
 land. The mouths of the rivers are also much 
 filled up with sand-bars. In consequence of 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 23 
 
 this state of things, large ships cannot safely 
 approach the shore, and therefore there is no 
 considerable sea-port to^vn to carry on foreign 
 commerce. Until lately that some railroads 
 have been built, the people of North Carolina 
 were forced to take their produce in wagons, 
 many of them hundreds of miles, to Charleston, 
 in South Carolina, or to Petersburg and Rich- 
 mond, in Virginia, and to get home their dry 
 goods and groceries in the same inconvenient 
 and expensive way. 
 
 From the circumstances mentioned in the 
 last paragraph, it may be readily supposed that 
 the people of North Carolina have not been 
 greatly addicted to trading in any way. They 
 have been forced to live very much at home 
 and by themselves, and have' seen less of the 
 world than the people of the other States. And 
 this is the chief reason why the different classes 
 of the population have remained so long dis- 
 tinct, and retained so much of their original 
 peculiarities. A great deal of trading and 
 moving to and fro among all sorts of folks, will 
 soon bring people to think and act pretty much 
 alike ; and the inhabitants of North Carolina 
 have done less of this than most othere. For 
 the same reason, perhaps, they are considered 
 
24 OLD times; or, 
 
 to be more quiet and modest than the people of 
 many other States. 
 
 Well, young friends, we suppose you have all 
 heard of Whigs and Tories. And you probably 
 understand that a Tory was an American who 
 took part with the English king and govern- 
 ment against the people of the provinces, who 
 were fighting for their freedom and independ- 
 ence, and who were called Whigs. This contest, 
 generally called the Revolutionary War, was be- 
 gun in the year 1775, and the first battle betw^een 
 the Americans and the English soldiers was 
 fought in that year at Lexington, in the prov- 
 ince of Massachusetts. It was in the next year, 
 on the fourth of July, that the Continental 
 Congress declared the provinces — thirteen in 
 number — to be free and independent States. 
 That is the reason why people now celebrate 
 the fourth of July as a great holiday. This 
 Revolutionary War lasted about eight years, at 
 the end of which Great Britain gave up the 
 point, and agreed to let the people of America 
 be independent, and manage their own affairs 
 to suit themselves. 
 
 Well, North Carolina was one of the colonies, 
 or provinces, that were engaged in this war against 
 Great Britain, and her people were very much 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 2S 
 
 divided about it. Perhaps there were as many 
 Tories as Whigs, and they carried on very cruel 
 and distressing hostilities against each other — 
 killing, robbing, burning, and destroying, as 
 each party could get the advantage. The High- 
 land Scotch, in the sand-hills, were all Tories to 
 a man, on account of their ignorance, and their 
 having been taught w^iile in Scotland that the 
 king should do as he pleases, and that nobody 
 should resist him. Many others, who had been 
 engaged in the "Regulation" some years before, 
 had been then conquered, and f/^rced to swear 
 that they would be obedient to the King of 
 England. This oath of allegiance: a-s it is 
 called, they considered to be binding on their 
 consciences, and thought it would be sinful for 
 them to fight against the king. 
 
 The Quakers think it contrary to the princi- 
 ples of the Christian religion to fight in any 
 way, or for any cause; therefore, they were 
 neither Whigs nor Tories. They were frequently 
 ill-treated by both parties, but according to their 
 religious views, submitted, without resistance, to 
 whatever injuries might be inflicted upon them. 
 They are generally inoflensive and friendly, in- 
 dustrious and useful citizens. On this account, 
 by the laws of Tennessee, and perhaps other 
 
26 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 States, they are exempted from militia duty in 
 time of peace. This is, however, a rather 
 empty compliment, as they are bound, like 
 other citizens, to perform military service in 
 time of war. 
 
 From this statement, our young readers will 
 see that all the Tories were not bad men, but 
 that many of them thought they were doing 
 right when they fought for the king, or refused 
 to fight against him. But there were others, who 
 were Tories for what they could make by it, and 
 because they wished to be on the strong side. 
 Of this selfish and unpatriotic class, there were 
 a good many in North Carolina, as well as in 
 the other provinces. The greater part of them 
 left the country upon the establishment of its 
 independence. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 27 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN TENNESSEE. 
 
 It has been before stated that the King of 
 England gave to the first settlers of North Caro- 
 lina all the country lying to the west of that 
 province, entirely across the Continent to the 
 Pacific Ocean. If any of our young readers 
 should here ask what right the King of England 
 had to give away a country which w^as then in 
 possession of the Indians, we can only say that 
 such was the fashion of those times. Christian 
 nations thought they had a right, if they could, 
 to take away lands from heathens, who had no 
 knowledge of Christianity. The King of Eng- 
 land only did in this matter what all other 
 Christian kings were then in the habit of doing, 
 when they had power and opportunity. After 
 receiving such a grant from the king, the people 
 who undertook to occupy the country, had to 
 get clear of the Indians as best they could. 
 
 It has also been mentioned that in about a 
 
28 ' OLD times; or, 
 
 hundred years from the time the English took 
 possession of North Carolina, the country had 
 been gradually occujDied and cultivated as far 
 west as the Alleghany Mountains. There the 
 settlement of the country was stopped for 
 awhile, because no one desired to make his home 
 in the barren soil and hard climate of the 
 mountains. By looking at a map, you will see 
 that Virginia lies adjoining North Carolina on 
 the north side, and the line between them runs 
 from the Atlantic Ocean due west. This line 
 had been marked only so far as the settlements 
 in the two provinces extended — that is, to the 
 mountains. For this reason, when persons came 
 into the wilderness on the west side of the 
 mountains, they could not be certain whether 
 they were on land belonging to North Carolina 
 or Virginia. 
 
 The persons who first crossed the mountains 
 into that part of the country which is now the 
 State of Tennessee, did not come to stay in it, 
 but to hunt and to trade with the Indians. 
 Wild animals were very plentiful, such as 
 bears, deer, foxes, beavers, otters, minks, rac- 
 coons, etc. These were easily killed with the 
 rifle, or taken in various sorts of traps, and the 
 skins could be sold for a good price among the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 29 
 
 people on the east side of the mountains. But 
 if a man preferred it, he could buy the skins 
 from th^ Indians for a mere trifle, such as glass 
 beads, cheap knives, fish-hooks, etc. Some of 
 these skins were valuable for the fur that was 
 on them ; others were tanned and made into 
 leather. 
 
 These hunters and traders, after traveling 
 upon their business until they were satisfied, 
 would pack their skins upon horses, and return 
 to the settled parts of North Carolina and Vir- 
 ginia. Of course, like other travelers, they had 
 marvelous stories to tell of what they had seen 
 and heard. The descriptions they gave of the 
 rich and beautiful country on the west side of 
 the mountains, naturally caused, in those who 
 listened to them, a desire to see and to possess 
 the goodly land. There soon sprung up in West- 
 ern Carolina and Virginia a feeling of restless- 
 ness and a spirit of adventure, very difierent 
 from the quiet and cautious habits for which 
 the people of those two States have ever been 
 remarkable. So great, however, were the diffi- 
 culties and dangers of the enterprise, that none 
 but a few of the most daring and reckless among 
 them would, for a good while, trust themselves 
 on this side of the Alleghany rjdge. 
 
30 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 From the most western settlements in Caro- 
 lina to the Watauga River, where the first emi- 
 grants planted themselves, is not less than seventy 
 miles, across steep and rough mountains, where 
 nobody was then living, and where, even to this 
 time, there are only a few scattered cabins. 
 There were no roads, nor even a beaten pathway, 
 for the whole distance. No provisions were to 
 be had on the route, except what could be 
 carried along on pack-horses, and such wild 
 animals as the hunters could kill with their 
 rifles. And when they had reached the Wa- 
 tauga, they were not at all better off, having 
 neither houses to live in, nor grain to make 
 bread, nor land cleared to make a crop. But 
 worse than all these things, was the danger 
 arising from the Indians by whom they were 
 surrounded in their new homes. I shall speak 
 of these Indians in the next chapter. 
 
 The first white man who settled in Tennessee 
 with his family, was Captain William Bean, 
 from Pittsylvania county, Virginia. In the 
 year 1769 — just one hundred years ago — he 
 built his cabin on Boon's Creek, a small stream 
 that runs into the Watauga River. His son, 
 Russell Bean, was the first white child born in 
 Tennessee. If you will now look at a map, 5^ou 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 31 
 
 may see that the Watauga River, near the north- 
 east corner of Tennessee, empties into the Hol- 
 ston, on the south side of the latter stream. 
 The Holston rises in "Western Virginia, and 
 runs mostly in a western direction. Other per- 
 sons, with families, soon moved in, and fixed 
 their new homes around Captain Bean's ; and 
 thus was Tennessee begun to be settled. 
 
32 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 INDIANS IN TENNESSEE. 
 
 At the time that the Territory of Tennessee 
 was first visited by traders and hunters, it, and 
 also Kentucky, were in a singular condition in 
 regard to human inhabitants. There is no 
 doubt that the whole country had once been 
 occupied by various Indian tribes ; but at the 
 time of which we speak, there was no part 
 of it in the actual possession of the red men, 
 except that portion of the present State of 
 Tennessee lying south of Tennessee River. This 
 portion belonged to the Cherokees. By ex- 
 amining a map, you will see that this is the 
 south-east portion of the State, bordering on 
 North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, and 
 comprising less than one-fourth of its surface. 
 This was only a part of the Cherokee lands, 
 as they had extensive possessions in the adjoin- 
 ing province of North Carolina, and in the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOHY. 33 
 
 territory now constituting the States of Georgia 
 and Alabama. 
 
 The country then inhabited by the Cherokee 
 Indians is perhaps the most delightful part of 
 North America ; being sufficiently elevated for 
 health, with a fair proportion of hills and 
 plains, well watered, and* finely timbered, a 
 fertile soil, and a soft and genial climate. The 
 great French traveler, M. Volney, pronounced 
 it to have the only good climate in America. 
 At the time of the first settlement in East 
 Tennessee, the Cherokees were less powerful 
 than they had formerly been, having just suf- 
 fered a disastrous defeat, and lost many of their 
 warriors, in a great battle with the Chickasaws. 
 It was, no doubt, fortunate for the young com- 
 munity at Watauga, that these Indians had so 
 lately been whipped. 
 
 The Chickasaws did not inhabit any portion 
 of Tennessee, but they claimed to have dominion 
 over all West Tennessee from the Tennessee 
 River to the Mississippi, as their hunting-grounds. 
 As the early emigrants did not come much into 
 contact with the Chickasaws, it is unnecessary 
 to say more about them in this place. 
 
 The Shawnees had at one time held the 
 country on the Cumberland ^^"ver, from about 
 '' 2 
 
34 OLD times; or, 
 
 where Nashville now stands, to the Ohio. They 
 had been engaged almost continually in wars 
 with the Cherokees or Chickasaws. At length, 
 about a hundred years before the settlement of 
 Watauga — according to Indian tradition — the 
 two last-mentioned tribes had combined together, 
 and entirely broken up the Shawnee Nation. 
 Most of them went off and joined some northern 
 tribes called the Six Nations. They still con- 
 tinued, however, to make incursions into the 
 lands they had left, for the purposes of war 
 and hunting. In these expeditions they were 
 assisted by the Six Nations, and thus Ken- 
 tucky and Tennessee became the "debatable 
 land," the "dark and bloody ground," on 
 which were fought the fierce battles between 
 the northern and southern tribes. 
 
 As neither of the parties was able to hold 
 quiet and permanent possession of these lands, 
 the one kept on the south, and the other 
 on the north, of the disputed territory, and 
 only came into it occasionally to hunt, or 
 to attack the hunters of the hostile tribes. 
 In this way it happened, according to the 
 best accounts that could be gotten from the 
 Indians, that the first visitors from Carolina 
 and Yirojinia found Tennessee and Kentuckv 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 35 
 
 a wilderness without human inhabitant, except 
 the Cherokees in one corner, as has been before 
 stated. Whether this is the true account or 
 not, it is a singular and important fact, that 
 just when the people of Virginia and Caro- 
 lina were ready to take possession of the coun- 
 try, the former owners had retired from nearly 
 the whole of it. 
 
 The lands thus left vacant were among the 
 most fertile on the Continent. The abundance 
 of grass, cane, and other spontaneous produc- 
 tions of the earth, w^ould, of course, support 
 countless numbers of wild animals, and fur- 
 nish, perhaps, the. most plentiful hunting- 
 grounds that have ever existed anywhere. 
 The absence of resident Indians, together with 
 the favorable climate and rich soil, allowed the 
 buffalo, bear, deer, and turkeys to multiply 
 to the fullest extent; so that the pioneer set- 
 tlers had nothing to do but " slay and eat." 
 
36 
 
 OLD times; oe, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CHAKACTEK OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Probably most of our young readers have 
 beard frequent descriptions of Indians, and 
 some of them have perhaps seen one or more 
 of the few that still wander about the country. 
 They are frequently called red men, on account 
 of the color of their skin, which is pretty much 
 like that of a copper cent or a brass skillet. 
 They are generally not large men, seldom 
 weighing more than one hundred and fifty 
 pounds. They are straight and slender, their 
 limbs very trim and tapering, with small hands 
 and feet. Their bones are rather small, and they 
 have less muscular strength than white men 
 or negroes; but they are nimble and wiry, 
 and able to travel on foot with great ease and 
 rapidity. 
 
 The Indians all have dark eyes, with a keen 
 and sly look. They are not inclined to talk 
 much, and when they do, usually express them- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 37 
 
 selves in a sliort and abrupt manner. From 
 nature or practice, or from both, they are ca- 
 pable of concealing their feelings much more 
 than white men. However sudden or alarming 
 a circumstance may happen in the presence 
 of an Indian, if he chooses, he can behave just 
 as if he knew nothing about it. In the greatest 
 agony of body or mind, he can appear as calm 
 as a sleeping infant. It is a point of honor 
 with him to endure any degree of torture that 
 can be inflicted without complaint or flinching. 
 There are, perhaps, no cowards among In- 
 dians, yet their notion of courage is not the 
 same as that of white men. When engaged in 
 open and declared war, it is true that white 
 men, as well as Indians, will deceive their 
 enemies, if they can, by tricks and stratagems, y 
 But if a white man, by pretending peace and 
 friendship, should seek an oj)portunity to do 
 his enemy a mischief, he would feel that he 
 was doing a mean and cowardly action. But 
 the Indian has no such convictions. He would 
 gain entrance into the house of a frontier set- 
 tler to beg a morsel of meat to keep him from 
 starving, and then murder the mother and 
 children, and burn the cabin over their dead 
 bodies. And this he would do when he and 
 
38 OLD times; or, 
 
 his tribe were professing to be the friends of 
 the white man. 
 
 Of all human beings, the American Indian 
 is, perhaps, the most revengeful. An injury- 
 done to himself or any of his tribe, he never 
 either forgets or forgives; and in seeking to 
 gratify this feeling, it seems to be immaterial 
 to him whether he wreaks his vengeance on the 
 offender himself, or some one of the nation 
 to which he belongs. Men of all nations in- 
 dulge this passion of revenge more than good 
 Christians should do, but civilized w^hite men 
 only entertain resentment against the individ- 
 ual who offers the injury or insult. They feel 
 no inclination to retaliate upon his family or 
 friends, and still less upon those who are 
 merely his countrymen. In this respect, how- 
 ever, most savage nations resemble, in some 
 degree, the Indian, though in no other has the 
 passion appeared to be so intense and over- 
 ruling. 
 
 The Indian is . very averse to labor ; that 
 is, to any kind of labor which, among us, is 
 called work. In hunting or in war, he will 
 undergo fatigue and hardship to a marvelous 
 extent; but any thing like labor in the field 
 or the workshop, he seems both unvv^illing and 
 
TENNESSEE IIISTOIIY. 39 
 
 unable to endure. The Spaniards, in tlie West 
 India Islands, attempted to make tlie Indians 
 perform the work of slaves, but soon discovered 
 that the little labor which they could force upon 
 them was more than they could bear. The 
 natives died off rapidly under this system, and 
 the Spaniards resorted to Africa for negroes to 
 take their place. The little corn-patches and 
 gardens among the Indians are cultivated 
 almost entirely by the females, whom they call 
 squaws. 
 
 The Indian man spends his time in beastly 
 laziness and sleep, except when engaged in war 
 or the chase. All the work about his dirty 
 hut, or ivigwam, is performed by the females, 
 assisted sometimes by the prisoners he may 
 have taken in -war. Occasionally he spends 
 a half-idle day in m.aking or mending the 
 clumsy instruments which he is to use in the 
 battle or the hunt, but proudly disdains to be 
 employed in any thing but bringing home 
 venison and scalps. This description is in- 
 tended to apply to Indians in their original, 
 savage state. Those of them v,'ho have had 
 much intercourse with the whites, have been 
 furnished with guns, powder, and lead, as well 
 as with other things, which they have not the 
 
40 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 art nor the industry to niiike. Still, the Indian 
 character remains; and, except the fire-arms, 
 they show very little disposition to use the 
 tools of the white man. 
 
 Can the Indians be civilized, and brought to 
 practice agriculture and the useful arts of life, 
 to such a degree as to form permanent and 
 prosperous communities? This question has 
 engaged the attention of some of the wisest and 
 best men amongst us. So far as experience 
 can teach any thing upon this point, the results 
 have not been favorable ; and the general 
 impression of the American people is, that 
 " an Indian Avill be an Indian," in despite of 
 all attempts to improve liim. Many of the 
 tribes, that ^vere numerous and powerful a 
 hundred years ago, have entirely disappeared ; 
 and we can reasonably expect for them no 
 other future destiny, than that they will con- 
 tinue to decline, until, at no very distant day, 
 the whole race will become extinct. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 41 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE FIRST WHITE SETTLERS. 
 
 At the time the earliest emigrants made 
 the settlement at Watauga, neither North 
 Carolina nor Virginia was crowded with joeo- 
 ple. The emigrants that left those States Avere 
 under no necessity of doing so in order to get 
 homes. Land in both places was cheap and 
 plentiful, and even to this time they have 
 more waste -land than is to be found in Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 In such circumstances, it may seem strange 
 to our young readers that men should emigrate 
 at ail. AVhile they could have lands and 
 homes among kindred and friends, why should 
 they expose themselves to the hardships and 
 dangers of a new country ? While they could 
 stay at home in safety, why should they plunge 
 into a wilderness among wild beasts and fero- 
 cious savages ? 
 
 Well, though it may appear unreasonable to 
 
42 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 young j^ersons without much experience, it is 
 just like many things that boys frequently do 
 without asking the reason why. It is the same 
 spirit that causes them to quit a snug room and 
 a warm fire and roam through the woods on a 
 cold and dark night, tumbling over logs and 
 into gnllies, and getting scratched with brush 
 and briers, that they may have a chance to see 
 a fight between a dog and a 'coon. It is just 
 the love of excitement and action — the spirit 
 of adventure. 
 
 Ease and comfort are good things to some 
 men and boys, but there are others who prefer 
 change and novelty, even at the risk of danger 
 and hardship. It is right that it should be so ; 
 and the world has always had in it both classes 
 of persons — the easy and the active, the cau- 
 tious and the bold. The one class is useful to 
 prevent things from going too fast, while the 
 other is sure to make them go fast enough ; the 
 one keeps things moving, while the other keeps 
 them steady. The best character for a man is 
 to have just enough of both qualities, as George 
 Washington had. 
 
 Every one will readily understand that it was 
 the most active and bold among the people of 
 Carolina and Virginia that first came to Ten- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 43 
 
 nessee. Those whose motto was to "let well 
 enough alone," stayed where they were born. 
 For a similar reason, men of wealth were not 
 among the early emigrants; for those who 
 owned a large property would be unwilling to 
 risk it in a wild country. Those who held high 
 offices, or had great family influence in the old 
 provinces, did not com'e, for, by removing, they 
 must have lost these advantages. From the 
 nature of the case, the men wdio laid the founda- 
 tion of the State of Tennessee were poor, but 
 active-, hardy, and brave — men fit for the work 
 they had to do. 
 
 The early settlers w^ere, none of them, men 
 of much education ; and, indeed, had they been 
 scholars, their learning would have been use- 
 less in a country where there w^ere no books, 
 and nothing to be done which could be helped 
 by a knowledge of them. The celebrated Dan- 
 iel Boone visited the Watauga country, though 
 he did not stay there, but wxnt to Kentucky. 
 He carved on the bark of a beech-tree a record, 
 informing those who might follow, that he had 
 "cilled A Bar," in that place; and Boone 
 was probably not much behind other pioneers 
 in the matter of spelling. But, like the others, 
 he had a good rifle and a quick eye, a keen ax 
 
44 OLD times; ok, 
 
 and a strong arm, and withal, a brave heart, to 
 struggle with the privations and dangers of the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Two noble traits of character were, almost 
 of necessity, formed by the condition in which 
 the emigrants were placed. These were a feel- 
 ing of sympathy and a sense of social equality. 
 Where all were equally liable, at any moment, 
 to need the aid of the others, this feeling of 
 equality and sympathy must grow up. Where 
 the best efforts of every man and woman in the 
 community were felt to be barely sufficient to 
 procure subsistence and safety for all and for 
 each one, no one could be disregarded as worth- 
 less or inferior. Besides, in a state of things 
 where the means and the manner of living 
 were the same to all, there could be no room 
 for that silly affectation of superior style, which 
 we sometimes see in older communities. Let 
 us be glad that so much of the old equality 
 and brotherhood is still left among the people 
 of our noble State. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 45 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE WATAUGA SETTLEMENT. 
 
 The pioneers who had fixed themselves at 
 Watauga, as stated in the fifth cha^Dter, were 
 soon busy in trying to make themselves safe 
 and comfortable. After building a cabin to 
 protect themselves from the inclemency of the 
 weather, the next grand object was to clear 
 a piece of ground for a crop of corn. Until 
 they could raise a crop, they must either do 
 without bread, or bring a supply from Carolina 
 and Virginia, across the mountains on pack- 
 horses. When it must have cost so much time 
 and toil to get it, we may suppose that corn- 
 bread was a rarity and a dainty at Watauga. 
 
 Indeed, when they were so lucky as to have 
 a little corn, they could scarcely have bread, 
 for the want of mills to grind the grain into 
 meal. And now, young reader — you who have 
 just risen from your nice and plentiful break- 
 fast, where you had hoe-cake, and batter-bread, 
 
4G OLD times: oe, 
 
 aud biscuit besides — how do you suppose the 
 boys aud gii'ls of those days managed to eat 
 their corn ? Certainly not raw, as a hog or a 
 horse does; but they would boil it like our 
 hominy, or else roast it in an oven, if they 
 had one, if not, in the hot ashes, and then 
 crack the grains with their teeth. In those 
 hard times, well-provided and happy was the 
 boy that had a pocketful of parched corn. 
 
 As to a plenty of meat, and that of the best, 
 there was no difficulty at all. Whoever had a 
 rifle, and powder, and lead, might take his 
 choice of bear-meat, venison, turkey, and some- 
 times buffalo ; to say nothing of squirrels, 
 partiidges, and other small game. Fish were 
 also plentiful in all the streams, and might be 
 easily caught in various ways. Wild geese 
 and ducks also abounded, wherever there was 
 water for them to swim in. Kow, if any boy 
 who reads this should be wishmg that he had 
 been there to fish and to hunt, let him remem- 
 ber that he must have eaten those good things 
 for his dinner frequently without bread, and 
 sometimes without salt, and perhaps he would 
 change his mind. 
 
 While those who had already planted them- 
 selves at Watauga were thus employed in en- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 4< 
 
 deavormg to improve their new homes, other 
 emigrants continued to arrive from Virginia, 
 South Carolina, and Xorth Carolina, but chiefly 
 from the province last mentioned. However, 
 they did not come in crowds, with all the means 
 of opening and cultivating large farms, as they 
 now go into Kansas, and Xebraska, and other 
 frontier countries. There were no roads leading 
 to Watauga, and steamboats had not then been 
 invented; and besides, there was no traveling 
 by water across the Alleghany Mountains. 
 The emigrants came mostly on foot, with a 
 horse or two to carry the old women and 
 young children, with some provisions for the 
 journey, and a few articles for housekeeping. 
 Every new-comer was received with a hearty 
 welcome, and the whole settlement would at 
 once turn out to build him a cabin. The men 
 who did the work were not carpenters, and they 
 had neither plank nor nails to build with. 
 But with such instruments as an ax and an 
 auger, they managed to construct, out of the 
 trees that stood around, such a shelter as might 
 protect a family from rain and snow. In a 
 few days, the strangers would be at home, and 
 ready to do their part toward helping to settle 
 the next that should arrive. 
 
48 OLD times; or, 
 
 Among those who joined tlie AVatauga set- 
 tlement about this time, (in the year 1771,) 
 were two men who became afterward particu- 
 larly distinguished in the early history of Ten- 
 nessee. These were John Sevier and James 
 Robertson. Sevier's father was an English- 
 man, born in London, who came to Virginia, 
 and afterward to East Tennessee. Robertson 
 was from Wake county, North Carolina, who, 
 after spending some years at Watauga, settled 
 the first white colony in Middle Tennessee. 
 AVe may also mention the names of John Car- 
 ter, from Virginia, and Charles Robertson, 
 from South Carolina, among the men of note 
 in «the young community. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOHY. 49 
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 THE CONDITION OF THINGS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 In order that our readers may better under- 
 stand what we have farther to tell about the 
 settlement of East Tennessee, we must try to 
 make them acquainted with certain important 
 matters that were then going on m North 
 Carolina. 
 
 Well, what is commonly called the Revolu^ 
 tionary War was about to begin. This was, as 
 we have before stated, a w^ar between the king- 
 dom of Great Britain on one side, and her 
 American provinces on the other side. These 
 provinces were thirteen in number, all border- 
 ing on the Atlantic Ocean, and all lying on 
 the east of the Alleghany Mountains. They 
 were New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecti- 
 cut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, 
 New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
 They were called provinces, or colonies, until 
 
50 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 after the war, and then took the name of States. 
 They were governed by the laws of Great Brit- 
 ain, and had each a goveraor and other officers 
 appointed by the king. 
 
 This is not a proper place to explain the 
 causes of the Kevolutionary Yf ar, or to give a 
 history of its events. When you are a little 
 older, you can read all about it in many books 
 of American history. It is enough to say here, 
 that the fighting commenced in the year 1775, 
 though the quarrel began several years before. 
 In North Carolina especisJly, the people had 
 been so»much oppressed by unjust taxes, that 
 in 1771, they refused to pay them, and deter- 
 mined to resist the authority of the "royal gov- 
 ernor. This resistance was called the "Eegu- 
 lation," and brought on a battle at Alamance, 
 in which the "Eegulators" were defeated by 
 the troops under the command of Governor 
 Try on. 
 
 After the battle of Alamance, Governor Tryon 
 determined to punish all the persons engaged in 
 the " Kegulation," or else compel them to take 
 an oath of allegiance to the King of Great 
 Britain. To get out of his power, a good many 
 of them crossed the mountains, and took refuge 
 among the people at Watauga. And so this 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 51 
 
 disturbance in North Carolina helped to in- 
 crease the settlements west of the mountains 
 more rapidly than would have happened other- 
 wise. 
 
 As all the provinces were ill-treated by the 
 British Government, in one way or another, at 
 length they all agreed to choose some of their 
 best and wisest men, to meet together in Phila- 
 delphia, and try to provide some remedy. This 
 assembly of men wa^ called the Continental 
 Congress, and after consulting together, they 
 concluded it was best to throw off the British 
 Government altogether, and become ^parate 
 and independent States. This they did by a 
 declaration, made and published on the 4th of 
 July, 1776. 
 
 Having thus rejected the royal government, 
 the people of North Carolina, as well as of the 
 other provinces, were without any regular gov- 
 ernment at all. This, you know, is a bad state 
 of things ; for even a family or a school cannot 
 prosper without laws, and somebody to exercise 
 authority. So the people of Carolina met to- 
 gether, in counties and neighborhoods, and ap- 
 pointed men to manage matters as well as they 
 could, until -they should have time to make a 
 new government, and establish laws to suit 
 
52 
 
 themselves in place of the English laws. The 
 men so appointed were generally called "com- 
 mittees of public safety." 
 
 While the province was under the rule of 
 Great Britain, the governor used to appoint 
 men called Indian agents to stay amongst the 
 Cherokees and other tribes, and endeavor to 
 make them friendly with the white people. 
 These men, being appointed and paid by the 
 royal governor, were opposed to the Whigs, or 
 Revolutionary party, and therefore tried to stir 
 up the Indians to make war upon the frontier 
 settlers,* while the king was sending his armies 
 across the ocean to subdue the provinces, and 
 force them to submit to his authority. 
 
 In the fourth chapter I told you there were 
 a great many Tories in Carolina. Well, these 
 Tories did their best to help the King of England 
 and his. generals to conquer the -Whigs. In 
 the many fights that happened between them, 
 the Tories would sometimes have to run ofi", and 
 even to leave the province, in order to save their 
 lives. Many of them went amongst the Chero- 
 kees ; and as they hated the Whigs, they w^ould 
 try to persuade the Indians to hate them too, 
 and to make war upon the western settlements. 
 You can easily see that the Whigs of Carolina, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 53 
 
 having the British and the Tories on their 
 hands at home, would have little power to pro- 
 tect the young settlements in East Tennessee. 
 These were, therefore, left to take care of them- 
 selves as best they could. 
 
54 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 EXTENSION OF THE WESTERN SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 Shortly after Watauga was settled, a man 
 named Brown, from North Carolina, took up 
 his abode upon the Nolichucky River, a stream 
 that runs into the Holston farther south and 
 west than the Watauga. Several other families 
 went with him, and they all built their cabins 
 near together on the northern bank of the river. 
 Brown and his companions bought as much 
 land as they all wanted from the Cherokees, for 
 a small parcel of goods, which he brought with 
 him -from Carolina on a pack-horse. 
 
 About the same time, John Carter and a 
 small company of emigrants fixed themselves 
 in what is still called Carter's Valley, not far 
 from the present town of Bogersville. This 
 valley was then supposed to belong to Virginia, 
 and the first settlers were from that province. 
 Emigrants continued to arrive at all these set- 
 tlements, chiefly from Virginia and North Car- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 55 
 
 na. None of the Indian towns were very 
 near them, and the Cherokees were quite 
 peaceful and friendly toward their white neigh- 
 bors. Indeed, they were well pleased to have 
 persons among them with whom they could 
 trade their skins and furs for guns, blankets, 
 knives, etc. 
 
 When the w^hite men took possession of the 
 lands on the Watauga, they did not ask the 
 consent of the Cherokees, or anybody else. 
 They occupied the territory, just because nobody 
 else was there to interfere with them. The 
 Indians did not live nearer than a hundred 
 miles from it, yet they claimed the whole coun- 
 try as their hunting-grounds. To satisfy the 
 Cherokees, and to keep them in a friendl)^ mood, 
 the people of Watauga agreed to pay them 
 goods to the value of several thousand dollars, 
 for the privilege of living on the lands for a 
 certain number of years. This was called leas- 
 ing the land ; but the white men knew very well 
 if they could hold it a few years, they could 
 keep it always afterward. 
 
 Well, a day was appointed for the head men 
 of the Cherokees to come to Watauga, and 
 complete the bargain about the land. At the 
 same time and place it was understood that 
 
56. OLD times; or, 
 
 there was to be a horse-race. A race is sure to 
 bring in all the scamps and rowdies that are 
 in reach of it, and upon this occasion, there 
 were some of this sort from the frontiers of Vir- 
 ginia. In the course of the day, some of these 
 Virginians, with little or no provocation, shot 
 and killed one of the Cherokees. AYe have told 
 you before how revengeful all Indians are, and 
 the white people at Watauga had good reason 
 to dread what would happen as soon as news 
 of the murder should be carried to the Cherokee 
 Nation. 
 
 In this alarming state of things, James Kob- 
 ertson proposed that he and another man would 
 go to the Cherokee towns, and endeavor to make 
 up the matter. They went accordingly, at the 
 great risk of their lives, and by explaining, 
 persuading, and promising to punish the mur- 
 derers, when they could catch them, they at 
 length succeeded in pacifying the Indians, and 
 preventing them from attacking the settlement. 
 In this business Mr. Eobertson proved himself 
 to be a man of uncommon prudence, courage, 
 and public spirit ; and ever after, the people of 
 Watauga looked to him for protection and 
 guidance in all difficulties. 
 
 Up to this time the settlers had no quarrel 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOEY. 57 
 
 with tlie Indians, and all the sensible men 
 among them had been very cautious not to give 
 offense to those who could so easily have de- 
 stroyed the weak and unprotected settlements. 
 Although the great danger, arising from this 
 foolish murder, was happily warded off by the 
 good management chiefly of Robertson, yet it was 
 not long before the Cherokees began to entertain 
 a bad feeling toward the white people, and that 
 without any fault of the latter. This change 
 was brought about by the Indian agents of the 
 King of England, the Tories, and bad men who 
 had gone amongst the Cherokees to avoid being 
 punished for their crimes in the provinces. 
 
58 OLD times; oe. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 INDIAN YfARFAEE. 
 
 During the year 1775, Indian traders, com- 
 ing into the white settlements, gave notice to 
 the inhabitants that the Cherokees were about 
 to attack them. This, of course, produced great 
 alarm on the frontiers, especially on the Wa- 
 tauga, and Nolichucky, and in Carter's Valley, 
 which Avere the most advanced settlements, and 
 nearest to the Indian tov/ns. The people at 
 these places began at once to make what prepa- 
 ration they could to defend themselves against 
 the enemy. One of the first things thought of 
 v/as to build stations, and to bring all the in- 
 habitants into them for protection. 
 
 Well, what is a station? or rather, w^hat was 
 it? for there are no stations in the country 
 now. It WTtS just a picket-fence, made of stakes 
 eight or ten feet long, set close together in the 
 ground, and sharpened at top, so that the In- 
 dians could not climb over them. AVith this 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 59 
 
 sort of fence a piece of ground was inclosed, 
 perhaps half an acre in extent, and inside of it 
 cabins were built, sufficient to hold all the peo- 
 ple. For a considerable distance round this 
 inclosure the cane and other small growth were 
 cleared away, so that an Indian could not get 
 near to it without being seen. 
 
 In building stations, they frequently made 
 cabins close together, so that their Avails might 
 answer in place of the picket-fence or stockade. 
 In these walls they cut small holes, through 
 wdiich they could put their rifles and shoot the 
 Indians, wdiile they themselves were safe behind 
 the wall of logs. These were frequently called 
 port-holes, and houses thus built, block-houses. 
 It was a great object in these stations to have 
 running water in the inclosure, or at least in 
 the cleared space around it. At one time there 
 were a great many of these stations in East and 
 Middle Tennessee, but they have all been re- 
 moved, or have rotted down, and only a few old 
 settlers can now tell exactly where any of them 
 stood. 
 
 Whenever they had reason to expect an im- 
 mediate attack by the Indians, all the settlers, 
 with their families, would try to get into one of 
 these stations, carrying with them whatever of 
 
60 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 their property they could, and all the provisions 
 they might have on hand. It would frequently 
 happen that they would be confined in the sta- 
 tion for several weeks at a time, without any 
 chance to procure food of any sort, and forced 
 to depend on the supply they might have on 
 hand. When they would be ready to starve, 
 some of the men would leave the station by 
 night, and steal through the surrounding In- 
 dians, at the great hazard of their lives, to get 
 provisions or other assistance from any other 
 station or settlement in reach. 
 
 When the Indians would find that the white 
 people had gone into a station, they frequently 
 went off without making any attack, and con- 
 tented themselves with burning the cabins, and 
 carrying off the horses and other property of the 
 settlers. Sometimes, however, they would un- 
 dertake to set fire to the stockade and block- 
 houses, and to shoot and kill the men through 
 the cracks between the logs. In this work they 
 were not often successful, and as they were fully 
 exposed to the fire of the riflemen within, 
 many of them would be killed in such at- 
 tempts. A more usual course with them was 
 to lurk about the place, and cut off all who 
 might attempt to leave the station, and in 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 61 
 
 that way endeavor to starve the party into a 
 surrender. 
 
 It was a practice with the Indians to carry 
 off the dead bodies of their warriors killed in 
 battle, in order to conceal their loss. In per- 
 forming this duty, as they considered it, many 
 of them were killed, who otherwise might have 
 escaped. Another custom of the Indian war- 
 rior was to scalp his dead enemy — that is, to 
 take off a piece of the skin of the head with the 
 hair on it. This he would keep in his wigwam 
 as a proof of his warlike exploits ; and he was 
 the proudest warrior of his tribe wdio could 
 show the longest string of such memorials. 
 
 This practice of taking scalps among the In- 
 dians was not always confined to the slain. 
 They would sometimes scalp women and chil- 
 dren, whom, for some reason, they did not choose 
 to kill; and persons were often scalped who 
 recovered from the injury and lived to die of 
 old age. A laughable story is somewhere told 
 of an Indian attempting to scalp a Frenchman 
 who wore a wig. The savage seized him by 
 the hair, but before he could use his scalping- 
 knife, the wig came off, and the Frenchman 
 ran away, leaving the astonished Indian with 
 the strange thing in his hands. 
 
62 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE CHEROKEES ATTACK THE SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 Early in the next year, (1776,) the people 
 of Watauga received certain information that 
 the Cherokees were prepared to march against 
 them in considerable numbers. The plan of 
 attack was understood to be, that the Indians 
 would be divided into several bands, and march 
 against the several stations and settlements at 
 the same time. In the distress produced by 
 this news, messengers were sent without delay 
 into the Avestern counties of Virginia and North 
 Carolina, to get what assistance they could to 
 defend the feeble colonies at Watauga, Noli- 
 chucky, and along the Holston. About a hun- 
 dred men, in five small companies, principally 
 from Virginia, immediately started across the 
 mountains, and arrived at Watauga before the 
 Indians. 
 
 After reaching the western settlements, the 
 officers commanding these troops thought it 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 63 
 
 would be best to go forward, and meet the In- 
 dians on their way, instead of waiting till they 
 should be attacked in the stations. The troops 
 from Virginia and Carolina had been joined by 
 all the men on the frontiers who could be 
 spared from the stations, and the whole force 
 amounted to about one hundred and seventy- 
 five men. Near a place called the Island Flats, 
 they met a party of the advancing Indians, about 
 four hundred in number. A hard battle imme- 
 diately commenced, in which the whites were 
 finally victorious, killing about forty of the 
 Cherokee warriors. Several of the white men 
 were wounded, but not one killed. 
 
 This first battle between the Tennessee set- 
 tlers and the Cherokees was fought on the 20th 
 of July, 1776. The victory obtained by the 
 white men had a very good influence both upon 
 themselves and upon their savage enemies. It 
 gave courage and confidence to the whites, so 
 that from that time they never feared to meet 
 any number of Indians in battle. It also con- 
 vinced the Cherokees that they V\'ere no match 
 for the Western riflemen, and that the settle- 
 ments defended by such men were dangerous 
 places in which to look for scalps. It did not, 
 however, cure them of their revengeful and 
 
64 OLD times; or, 
 
 blood-thirsty disposition, nor prevent them from 
 skulking about and murdering the whites at 
 every sly opportunity. 
 
 Another party of Cherokees had taken a dif- 
 ferent route, intending to attack the settlements 
 of Watauga and Nolichucky. The settlers at 
 the latter place had left their homes, and 
 crowded into the Watauga Station, which con- 
 tained not less than one hundred and seventy 
 persons — men, women, and children — w^hen the 
 Indians made their appearance. They at- 
 tempted to storm the fort in the usual way, 
 but were beaten off, and a good many of 
 them killed by the riflemen within. They re- 
 mained lurking about the place for several 
 days, and then departed. 
 
 While the Indians were in the neighborhood 
 of Watauga, a man named Cooper and a boy 
 went out of the stockade to get some timber 
 from the woods. The man was killed and 
 scalped by the Indians lying in wait. The boy 
 was made prisoner, carried to the Indian towns, 
 and burned to death. Another man was killed 
 while trying to get into the fort by night, and a 
 woman — Mrs. Bean — was taken prisoner. It is 
 not known what became of her, nor is it any- 
 where mentioned whether or not she was the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. G5 
 
 wife of Captain Bean, tlie first settler at Wa- 
 tauga. 
 
 But still another gang of tlie Indians were 
 more successful in their inroad. They pushed 
 for the scattered dwellings lower down the 
 Holston, wdiose inhabitants had not taken refuge 
 in any station. They killed and scalped every 
 human being in their route, at the same time 
 burning the houses and destroying the growing 
 corn. They did not stop in their destructive 
 course till they reached a settlement called the 
 Wolf Hills, in Western Virginia. They there 
 murdered several persons, but were at length 
 driven off by the men at Black's Station, near 
 where the town of Abingdon now^ stands. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Black's Station lived 
 a preacher by the name of Cummings. At the 
 time the Indians were committing mischief in 
 that quarter, Mr. Cummings and his negro man, 
 in company with three others, were at work in 
 a field. They were fired upon by the Indians, 
 and one of the men was killed and two others 
 were wounded. Mr. Cummings and his servant 
 attacked the savages in their hiding-place, and 
 forced them to retreat. This Mr. Cummings 
 used to ride to his log meeting-house on Sun- 
 day morning, with his rifle on his shoulder. 
 3 ^ 
 
(jQ OLD TIxMES; OR, 
 
 Upon getting into the pulpit, he would set it in 
 a corner, ready to snatch it up on any alarm. 
 He thought it as necessary, in those times, to 
 watch and fight, as to pray and jDreach ; and 
 he seems to have been good at all these exer- 
 cises. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 67 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 INVASION OF THE INDIAN TOWNS. 
 
 After the events related in the foregoing 
 chapter, the Cherokees seemed to be in a very 
 ill humor with their white neighbors in East 
 Tennessee. They retired to their towns, but 
 continued to send out marauding bands to mo- 
 lest the settlements, and to steal horses and take 
 scalps, wherever they could, without exposing 
 themselves to the aim of the frontier rifleman. 
 To put a stop to these outrages, a small army 
 from Virginia, under command of Colonel Chris- 
 tian, and another from North Carolina, under 
 Colonel Williams, marched to the Holston, 
 where they encamped for a few days. Here 
 they were joined by the men from Watauga, 
 and some other stations, until the entire army 
 amounted to about eighteen hundred men. 
 
 At the head of these troops. Colonel Christian 
 set out for the Cherokee towns. Until they 
 were near French Broad River, they heard 
 
Ub OLD times; ok, 
 
 nothing from the Indians ; but they were there 
 met by an Indian trader, with a message from 
 the Cherokees, warning them not to attempt to 
 cross that river, as a thousand warriors were 
 assembled there to dispute the passage. Not at 
 all daunted by this bravado, Colonel Christian 
 continued to advance, and upon arriving at the 
 river, was astonished to find the Indian camp 
 totally deserted. The story is, that a w^hite 
 trader among them had persuaded the Chero- 
 kees that it was vain to oppose the white in- 
 vaders, and that their only chance of safety 
 was to retreat to their strongholds in the 
 mountains. 
 
 The army continued its march in a south- 
 westwardly direction toward the Little Tennessee 
 River, w^here the most important and populous 
 Cherokee towns were situated. Here Colonel 
 Christian expected to encounter the whole In- 
 dian force, and was very careful not to be sur- 
 prised. But he was again disappointed, as not 
 a single Cherokee warrior was to be found. 
 None but a few helpless old men, squaws, and 
 children were left in the villages. The fighting • 
 men of the whole nation had been seized wdth a 
 panic, and thought of nothing but hiding them- 
 selves. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 69 
 
 As Colonel Christian could not bring his army 
 within shooting distance of the red men, the 
 next best thing to be done was to burn and de- 
 stroy their towns, provisions, and crops. This 
 was no doubt an unpleasant business for the 
 brave and generous men who composed that 
 array, but it was necessary to convince the In- 
 dians that they would not be allowed to harass 
 the settlements without being made to suffer 
 for it in their turn. Some of the towns that 
 were known to be peaceable were spared, 
 which would farther convince all that it was 
 their interest to be friendly toward the set- 
 tlements. 
 
 Finding no farther work for them to do, 
 Colonel Christian disbanded his army, and the 
 men returned to their homes. But in their ex- 
 pedition, they had enjoyed the opj^ortunity of 
 visiting and examining the most attractive por- 
 tion of East Tennessee. Many of tliem w^ent 
 back to Virginia and Carolina, only to bring 
 their families to new homes, which they had 
 already selected on the western frontier. The 
 reports which they carried with them, of the 
 richness of the land, and the beauty of the 
 country, had a powerful effect in exciting the 
 spirit of emigration among their friends and 
 
70 OLD times; or, 
 
 neighbors, and, for a sliort time, the population 
 of the Watauga, and other western settlements, 
 was rapidly increased. 
 
 And here, young readers, we would call upon 
 you to notice that, although Colonel Christian's 
 army had every thing in their power at the 
 Cherokee towns, there is no instance of any in- 
 jury done by them to the women and children 
 of their savage enemies. And this, we believe, 
 will hold true in all their subsequent conflicts 
 with the Indians. Many of them had seen 
 their sisters, wives, and helpless children mur- 
 dered, scalped, tortured, and burnt by the 
 Indians, and naturally became Indian-haters. 
 They pursued their warrior enemies with a 
 fierce- and unrelenting vengeance, but never 
 did one of them so far forget his manhood 
 as to inflict even a blow upon a squaw or 
 a child. 
 
 Another thing to be observed concerning 
 these Indian wars is, that there were no Tories 
 among the people in the western settlements. 
 It was well understood that the savages were 
 instigated and furnished with arms, to make 
 war upon the frontiers, by the agents of the 
 British Government residing among them. This 
 produced the natural eflect of causing the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 71 
 
 western people to become very hostile to the 
 English King, and all who snpported him. 
 There was probably not a Tory west of the 
 mountains, except a few who had taken refuge 
 and lived among the Indian tribes. 
 
72 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTEK XV. 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF THE WESTERN COMMUNITIES. 
 
 It has been mentioned before that East Ten- 
 nessee was a part of the province or State of 
 North Carolina, and under its authority. But 
 in fact, North Carolina did not, and could not, 
 for a long time, pay attention to the condition 
 of the people west of the mountains. All the 
 resources of the province, all the men and 
 money it could raise, were required for the Kev- 
 olutionary War, in which it was engaged, 
 against the British and the Tories in the eastern 
 or Atlantic part of the province. The western 
 settlements were not willfully neglected, but left 
 alone for the want of power to clierish and pro- 
 tect them. 
 
 But a community cannot prosper, or even 
 preserve, its existence for any length of time, 
 without some sort of government, and some 
 authority to Avhich all must submit. In their 
 difficult situation, tlie people of Watauga met 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 73 
 
 together, and made a written agreement about 
 the management of their affairs, which has 
 been called the " Watauga Association." They 
 elected thirteen men as commissionei-s to man- 
 age the affairs of the community, and five 
 men as a court to settle all disputes that might 
 arise among individuals. And for about five 
 years, the Watauga settlement was well gov- 
 erned, and the rights of all the people secured, 
 without laws, or judges, or juries, or sheriffs. 
 
 They must have been uncommon men who 
 could thus be governed by their own consent 
 and agreement, without any authority over 
 them. And so they were — men full of hon- 
 esty, prudence, and desire to promote the 
 public good. If there were any of a different 
 character, they could do nothing against the 
 influence and example of such men as John 
 Sevier, James Kobertson, Charles Robertson, 
 John Carter, and Zach. Isbell, who were the 
 members of the court. It is in times of difficulty 
 and danger that men of real virtue and talent ex- 
 ercise a natural and useful control over others. 
 
 The people of Watauga had given to their 
 settlement the name of Washington District, 
 considering it as a part of North Carolina. 
 There are now perhaps hundreds of counties 
 
74 OLD times; or, 
 
 and towns in the United States tliat bear the 
 honored name of the "Fatlier of his country;" 
 but, so far as we can learn, this little colony in 
 East Tennessee is the first on the list. At that 
 time, George Washington had just been ap- 
 pointed Commander-in-chief of the American Ar- 
 mies in the Revolutionary War. Their choosing 
 this name, above all others, is very good proof of 
 the strong Whig spirit of these w^estern people. 
 In the early part of the year 1776, a me- 
 morial or petition Avas addressed to the "Hon- 
 orable Provincial Council of North Carolina," 
 signed by the commissioners of Watauga, and 
 one hundred other persons. In that memorial 
 they explained their condition, and the reasons 
 which had forced them to set up a temporary 
 government without the authority of the parent 
 province. They denied any intention of be- 
 coming indejoendent of IsTorth Carolina, and 
 expressed a strong desire to have its laws ex- 
 tended to the western settlements, and regular 
 officers appointed to administer them. They 
 declared, in earnest language, their readiness to 
 take part with Carolina in the Revolutionary 
 struggle which was then going on, and to bear 
 their part of the taxes and other burdens of 
 the war. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 75 
 
 In consequence of this memorial, the Legis- 
 lature of North Carolina so far took notice of 
 the settlements west of the mountains, as to'. 
 throw them all together under the name of 
 Washington County, and allow them to send 
 delegates to a convention then aboHt to assemble 
 at Halifax. The delegates from Washington 
 county were Charles Robertson, John Carter, 
 John Etaile, and John Sevier. The Convention 
 or Provincial Congress met accordingly, and 
 adopted a Constitution of Government for the 
 State of North Carolina, including the western 
 colonies under the new name of Washington 
 county. 
 
 The next year, the General Assembly of North 
 Carolina passed a law regulating the militia of 
 Washington county, and providing for the ap- 
 pointment of justices of the peace and other 
 officers in the same. The Assembly also laid 
 off the boundaries of the county — and how 
 large do you suppose they made it? Why, it was 
 just as large as the whole State of Tennessee, as 
 it now is, reaching from the Alleghany Moun- 
 tains on the east to the Mississippi River on the 
 west. As the country has become settled, this 
 one county has been divided and subdivided until 
 there are now eisihtv-four counties in the State. 
 
70 OLD times; or, 
 
 CJIAPTER XVI. 
 
 WASHINGTON COUNTY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 We must now drop the names of Watauga, 
 Nolicliucky, etc., and speak of all the settlements 
 in East Tennessee under the one name that they 
 had received from the General Assembly of 
 North Carolina. We shall proceed to notice 
 several regulations, made by the Legislature of 
 that State, for the benefit of the settlers on the 
 Tennessee side of the mountains. 
 
 Among the first and most important of these 
 regulations, was one allowing every head of a 
 family in the western territory to have six hun- 
 dred and forty acres of land for himself, one 
 hundred fipr his wife, and one hundred more for 
 every one of his children. So that if a man 
 had a wife and five children, he could have 
 twelve hundred and forty acres of good land, 
 just by going to live on it. And this he could 
 have wherever he chose, provided no other per- 
 son had settled on it before him; A great part 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 77 
 
 of the land thus given away would now sell for 
 fifty dollars per acre. 
 
 At the same time, a law was passed to pro- 
 vide for keeping up a body of soldiers called 
 "Rangers," for the protection of the western 
 frontier. They were so called, because it was 
 their duty to range along the outside settle- 
 ments, and kill oi:, drive off any skulking In- 
 dians they could find. They were generally 
 mounted on horses, and so were able to move 
 rapidly from one place to another. These 
 Rangers received their pay, not in money — for 
 the State of North Carolina had none — but in 
 western land. In this way, every man, though 
 not the head of a family, had a chance to pro- 
 cure a fine tract of land, by serving in the 
 militia. 
 
 The Legislature of North Carolina, in the 
 same year, appointed commissioners to mark 
 out a wagon-road, from some convenient point 
 in Washington county, into Burke county, on 
 the east side of the mountains. This was the 
 first road ever made in Tennessee, and it was a 
 long time before that became what we would 
 now call a good one. Before that, the emi- 
 grants, on foot or on horseback, just followed 
 the blazed path, which the hunters and traders 
 
78 
 
 had first traveled. Even now a road across the 
 mountains must turn and wind about, in all 
 directions, in order to avoid those parts of the 
 ground that are too steep to be passed over. 
 
 Tliough the Rangers were not able to prevent 
 all hostile inroads on the part of the Cherokees, 
 yet the settlements became much more secure 
 than they had been. On tiiis account, as w^ell 
 as because of the favorable terms upon which 
 land could be obtained, a great many families, 
 about this time, crossed the mountains into the 
 new settlements. They were mostly poor men 
 who came, with nothing but stout hearts and 
 strong arms to make their way in the world. 
 However, as soon as the wagon-road was opened, 
 some men of considerable property were found 
 among the emigrants. 
 
 The rapid increase of the population caused 
 the Legislature of North Carolina, in 1779, to 
 establish another county on the north of the 
 Watauga settlement. The new county was 
 called Sullivan, in honor of General Sullivan, 
 of the Continental Army. Isaac Shelby was 
 appointed Colonel of Sullivan county, as John 
 Carter was of Washington. A militia colonel 
 was then a much more important character than 
 he is now. In this same year, the first meeting- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 79 
 
 house was built in Tennessee, on Buffalo Ridge, 
 near Watauga. A Baptist preacher, named 
 Lane, ministered to the congregation assembled 
 in that probably first place of Protestant wor- 
 ship in the great valley of the Mississipj)i. 
 
 As the courts were held in private houses — 
 that is, log-cabins — it is not likely that this first 
 church in the wilderness was a very fine build- 
 ing, nor that it was attended by people very 
 finely dressed. We are not informed upon that 
 subject, but feel pretty sure that the women did 
 not wear hoops — certainly not large ones. The 
 men j^robably wore hunting-shirts in place of 
 cloth coats, with pantaloons made of dressed 
 buckskin, and moccasins of the rawhide on their 
 feet. Their hats were probably made at home 
 of fox, or rabbit, or 'coon skins, the young men 
 having the hair outside for the sake of show, 
 and the old men preferring it on the inside to 
 keep their heads warm. If any of our young 
 readers do not know what a hunting-shirt is, 
 let them ask their grandfathers. 
 
 In this year also, under authority of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, the town of Jonesborough was 
 laid off, and established as the county town, or 
 seat of justice, of AYashington county. Its 
 name was intended as a compliment to Willie 
 
80 . OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 Jones, of Halifax, N. C. This gentleman was a 
 wealthy and loatriotic Whig, who, as a member 
 of the General Assembly, had exerted himself 
 to promote the welfare of the western settle- 
 ments, and, on that account, had the honor of 
 giving name to the first town laid off by white 
 men in Tennessee. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 81 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 TROUBLES WITH THE INDIANS AND TOEIES. 
 
 The great increase, about this time, in the 
 number of settlers, and the security produced by 
 the watchfulness and activity of the Rangers, 
 had caused the people to be too careless, and to 
 venture too far into the Indian country. Among 
 others, a man named Lewis built his cabin high 
 up the Watauga River, and at a considerable 
 distance from any other settlers. The Chero- 
 kees made an attack upon this family, murdered 
 Mr. Lewis, his wife, and seven children, and 
 burned his house. One of the children — a 
 daughter — was made prisoner, and afterward 
 was purchased from her Indian owner for a 
 gun. 
 
 Several disasters of this kind having hap- 
 pened, the Governor of North Carolina ap- 
 pointed James Robertson as commissioner to 
 visit the Indian towns, and endeavor to make 
 some arrangements to prevent such mischief for 
 
82 OLD times; or, 
 
 the future. He went accordingly, but failed tc 
 do much good among them. Some of the tribes 
 were disposed to be peaceable, but others were 
 evidently sullen and hostile. Of the latter class 
 may be specially mentioned the Chickamaugas, 
 under the influence of a fierce chief whose name, 
 in English, w^as Dragging Canoe. All names 
 among the Indians have a meaning ; so indeed 
 they have in all languages, but we cannot 
 always trace them back far enough to find out 
 what is that meaning. 
 
 The difiiculty of coming upon good terms 
 with the Indians was owing chiefly to the influ- 
 ence of the Tories, and of the agents of the 
 English King who resided among the Chero- 
 kees. Not only in East Tennessee, but along 
 the western frontier of Georgia, South Carolina, 
 Virginia, and Pennsylvania, the same sort of 
 savage hostilities was carried on. In addition 
 to the natural jealousy and revengeful disposi- 
 tion of the savages, they were persuaded by 
 these agents that the British Government would 
 protect them, and prevent the white settlements 
 from being carried farther west, if the Indians 
 would do their part, and help the king to con- 
 quer his rebellious provinces. They were lib- 
 erally furnished with guns and ammunition to 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 83 
 
 enable, and, at the same time, to bribe them, to 
 assist in the work of conquest. 
 
 These agents of the British Government kept 
 themselves generally beyond the reach of the 
 injured and exasperated people of the frontier; 
 and besides, as they belonged to a nation with 
 which our country was at open war, they could 
 only have been taken and kept as prisoners. 
 Not so, however, with the Tories, who were not 
 considered as subjects of the King of England 
 so much as traitors and outlaws, who were 
 making war upon their native country and 
 their fellow-citizens. True, when these were 
 made prisoners in battle, they were generally 
 treated in the same manner as their English 
 allies; but such of them as were caught, not 
 under command of a British oiScer, killing and 
 robbing the Whigs, were shot and hung with 
 very little ceremony. 
 
 In the turmoil of the Revolution, and distant 
 as were the frontier settlements from the seat 
 of government on the eastern sea-board, the 
 inhabitants of the western counties were tempted 
 to take the law into their own hands, and to 
 protect themselves in the most speedy and 
 effectual way against the mischievous and mur- 
 derous practices of the Tories. The people of 
 
84 OLD TIxMES; OR, 
 
 Watauga formed themselves into companies, 
 which would now be called "Lynchers," or 
 " Vigilance Committees," and hunted the Tories 
 as they would so many wolves. They did this, 
 not only because they considered the Tories as 
 the enemies of their country, but because it 
 was the only way to save their own lives and 
 property. 
 
 Up toward the head of Watauga, a Tory 
 named Grimes had established himself, with 
 several companions, and had attacked some of 
 the nearest Whig families, and killed at least 
 one man. A company from Watauga, under 
 the lead of Captain Bean, Kobertson, and Se- 
 vier, went against them, assaulted their lurking- 
 place, and drove them over the mountains. 
 Another Tory, of the name of Yearly, was 
 chased out of the neighborhood of Nolichucky. 
 Grimes was afterAvard caught and hung. 
 
 And here, young friends, let us say a serious 
 and sincere word to you about such proceedings 
 as we have just mentioned. At a time when 
 the country was passing from the English Gov- 
 ernment to a new one of the people's making, 
 in the midst of war and confusion, when things 
 were done by force and violence on all sides, 
 the conduct of the Watauga people was neces- 
 
TJENNESSEE HISTORY. 85 
 
 sary and right. But now, when we have an 
 established government, with laws to punish all 
 offenses, and judges, juries, and other officers to 
 enforce the laws, we can have no excuse for im- 
 itating such proceedings. If anybody should' 
 ever propose to you to join a company of 
 Lynchers or Vigilants, do you just say to him 
 that if the laws of Tennessee are not sufficient 
 to punish crimes, you will help to make them 
 stronger, but never to violate them. 
 
86 OLD TIMES; OR, f 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE NARROWS AND NICKOJACK. 
 
 It was stated in the last chapter that the 
 Chickamaugas were the most ferocious and un- 
 manageable of all the Cherokee tribes. Their 
 towns were on the south side of Tennessee River, 
 from the mouth of Chickamauga River, for a 
 distance of forty or fifty miles down the former 
 stream. By looking at a map, you will see that 
 the Tennessee here breaks through the Cum- 
 berland Mountains, or rather a branch of them, 
 usually called Walden's Ridge. This passage 
 of the river through the mountain is called The 
 Narrows, not far below the present town of 
 Chattanooga. 
 
 The channel of the river here becomes quite 
 narrow, and the banks high, steep, and craggy, 
 to a degree almost terrible. The current being 
 very rapid, and being thrown by the jutting 
 r6cks first on one side and then on the other, 
 the water goes roaring and foaming with a vio- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 87 
 
 lence equally dangerous and frightful. Even 
 at this day, though much has been done to im- 
 prove the navigation, it is regarded by boatmen 
 as a place that requires uncommon care to pass 
 it with safety. At the time of which we are 
 writing, it could only be descended when the 
 river was full. 
 
 In the same neighborhood is the celebrated 
 Nickojack Cave. One who has examined it, 
 gives the following description of this wonderful 
 place: "At its mouth it is about thirty yards 
 wide, arched overhead with pure granite, this 
 being in the center about fifteen feet high. A 
 beautiful little river, clear as cr3'"stal, issues from 
 its mouth. The distance the cave extends into the 
 mountain has not been ascertained. It has been 
 explored only four or five miles. At the mouth 
 the river is wide and shallow, but narrower than 
 the cave. As you proceed farther up the stream, 
 the cave becomes gradually narrower, until it is 
 contracted to the exact width of the river. It 
 is beyond that point explored only by water, in 
 a small canoe." 
 
 It w^as into this cave, and into the rugged and 
 precipitous country bordering on The Narrows, 
 that the Chickamaugas used to retreat when 
 hard pressed by a pursuing enemy. Here they 
 
88 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 could safely store their provisions, their warlike 
 implements, and the plunder they might gather 
 in their expeditions against the white settle- 
 ments. And to these dismal strongholds was 
 brought many a wretched captive, to pine in 
 loathsome slavery, or to be tortured to death in 
 an Indian frolic. When we come to speak of 
 Middle Tennessee, we shall see that most of the 
 disasters suffered by the early settlers in that 
 quarter, proceeded from the land -pirates of 
 Nickojack and The Narrows. 
 
 But the Chickamaugas were not the only 
 occupants of these abominable dens, and per- 
 haps not the worst. The most savage and law- 
 less of the other tribes found here a resort suited 
 to their wild tempers, and companions always 
 ready to encourage and assist them in deeds of 
 violence and blood. When any portion of the 
 Chickasaws, Choctaws, or Creeks would become 
 too bold and bloody to remain in their own 
 tribes, they found a welcome entrance into the 
 Chickamauga bands, and full scope for the ex- 
 ercise of their worst propensities. 
 
 There were also a few white men sometimes 
 to be found in company with the Indians that 
 congregated about these places. But we are 
 sorry to say that the company was not made 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY; 89 
 
 better by their presence. Besides the Indian 
 agents of the English King, the Chickamauga 
 towns and strongholds were resorted to by men 
 who were not allowed to live elsewhere. Mur- 
 derers and robbers from the Atlantic States, 
 and from Louisiana and Florida, then in pos- 
 session of the Spaniards, pirates that had been 
 chased from the high seas, outlaws and des- 
 peradoes of all sorts, fled to these parts to avoid 
 the punishment that was pursuing them. It is, 
 perhaps, not stretching the truth too far to call 
 the population of these infamous localities the 
 enemies of the human race. They certainly 
 proved to be the most destructive foes to the 
 new settlements in Tennessee. 
 
90 * OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 EXPEDITION AGAINST THE CHICKAMAUGA 
 
 TOWNS. 
 
 In order to check the inroads of the pestilent 
 gang of savages and others, that we have de- 
 scribed in the foregoing chapter, North Carolina 
 and Virginia united in getting up an expedition 
 against the Chickamaugas. The troops for the 
 purpose assembled at the mouth of Big Creek, 
 near the present town of Eogersville, in the 
 spring of 1779. They were placed under com- 
 mand of Colonel Evan Shelby, and consisted 
 of more than a thousand men, mostly volun- 
 teers from the western counties of the two States. 
 Neither Carolina nor Virginia had any money 
 to defray the expenses of the expedition, and 
 the funds absolutely necessary to carry it on 
 were raised by Colonel Shelby's son Isaac, after- 
 ward so distinguished in western warfare. 
 
 It was determined that the army should pro- 
 ceed bv water, and in a short time a suffi^ent 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 91 
 
 number of canoes and pirogues were built by 
 tlie troops to take them all down the river. 
 They arrived safely at the mouth of Chicka- 
 mauga, and turned up that stream. Here they 
 met with an Indian, whom they made prisoner, 
 and forced him to act as their guide to the In- 
 dian towns, wdth the situation of which they 
 w^ere not much acquainted. By his direction, 
 they presently left the current and their canoes, 
 and struggled through the backwater in a cane- 
 brake, until they came in sight of the Chicka- 
 mauga town. There were a good many Indians 
 in the town, but as they were not looking out 
 for such an invasion, they were taken by sur- 
 prise, and, without making any resistance, ran 
 off to their hiding-places in the mountains. 
 
 The Indians having fled, and it being impos- 
 sible to pursue them with any success, Colonel 
 Shelby had to content himself with burning the 
 town. The troops were sent out in various 
 directions, and drove the enemy and burned 
 their towns wherever they could come up with 
 them. At Chickamauga they found one hun- 
 dred and fifty horses, a great number of cattle, 
 and other valuable things belonging to the 
 Indians, a large part of which they had stolen, 
 at different times, from the white settlers. 
 
92 OLD times; or, 
 
 Among other things was a large number of 
 deer-skins, which w^ere said to belong to a 
 Tory white trader, named McDonald. These 
 were sold at public auction. 
 
 During this invasion of the Chickamauga 
 country, Colonel Shelby and his men burned 
 eleven of their towns, and destroyed tAventy 
 thousand bushels of corn. It was certainly a 
 great pity, in this way, to deprive the women 
 and children of shelter and food ; but there was 
 no help for it, if the Indians were to be pun- 
 ished at all. It was a more agreeable business 
 for Colonel Shelby to take possession of a large 
 amount of goods belonging to the agents of 
 the British Government, and with which they 
 intended to bribe the Indians to make war upon 
 our frontiers. Such of the goods as could not 
 conveniently be carried by the men, were de- 
 stroyed; but we have never heard that Colonel 
 Shelby, or anybody else, ever paid the British 
 for them, except in lead. 
 
 Having done all they could to teach the 
 Indians and their allies good behavior for the 
 future, the army set out on its return. To 
 avoid the great labor and difficulty of taking 
 the boats up the river, against a strong current, 
 it was resolved to march back by land. The 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. - 93 
 
 boats, and whatever else of value they were 
 unable to carry, were sunk in deep water, that 
 the Indians might not get them. The men, on 
 their way home, were a good deal distressed for 
 want of provisions, and had to depend on their 
 rifles to keep from starving. They all reached 
 the settlements in safety, not a man being lost 
 on the expedition. 
 
 This attack upon the Chickamauga towns 
 had a good effect, not only in disabling those 
 savages for a time, but also in saving the whole 
 frontier from invasion. The British agents and 
 officers had appointed to meet the chiefs of all 
 the northern and southern tribes at the mouth of 
 the Tennessee River. There they were to make 
 arrangements for the Indians to be joined by 
 some British troops, and to attack at once all 
 the settlements west of the Alleghanies, The 
 loss of their stores at Chickamauga, and the 
 impression made upon the Indians by the energy 
 and boldness of the volunteers, prevented the 
 appointed meeting, and spoiled the whole plan 
 of operations. 
 
 In their march homeward, the troops took the 
 north side of the Tennessee, and consequently 
 passed through some of the finest parts of East 
 Tennessee. The fertility of the lands, the beauty 
 
94 OLD times; or, 
 
 of the streams, and the mildness of the climate 
 — all united to render the country attractive; 
 and, no doubt, many a volunteer resolved with 
 himself to make his future home near some 
 gushing spring where he stopped, in his weary 
 march, to make his meal of j)arched corn and 
 broiled venison. In this way, as well as in its 
 more direct object, the expedition tended to 
 advance the settlements. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 95 
 
 CHAPTER XX. ' 
 
 CONDITION OF NOETH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 "We have not undertaken to write any history 
 of the Revolutionary "War, but in order that our 
 young readers may better understand some mat- 
 ters that are to follow, we must now glance at 
 the state of that war, at least so far as North and 
 South Carolina were concerned. The contest 
 between Great Britain and the American Colo- 
 nies had been going on for five years, but at no 
 time during that period had the hopes and 
 prospects of the American patriots been so low 
 as they were at the time of which we write — the 
 year 1780. Even those who had resolved never 
 to submit, had begun to think of leaving the 
 country on the east of the mountains, and of 
 seeking safety and independence in the western 
 wilderness. 
 
 South Carolina was entirely overrun by the 
 British Army. Charleston, the capital of the 
 State, had been taken, and the whole American 
 
9G OLD TIxMES; OR, 
 
 Army that defended it, under General Lincoln, 
 had been made prisoners of war. The Ameri- 
 cans had suffered a bloody defeat at Savannah ; 
 and again, at Camden, under General Gates, 
 their whole Southern Army had been routed 
 and scattered. Small parties of British and 
 Tories were employed in all quarters in harass- 
 ing the Whigs, taking and destroying their 
 property, and abusing their helpless families. 
 
 At this time, there was no army to oppose 
 the English in all the Southern States. And 
 what was even worse, neither the Continental 
 Congress nor the separate States possessed the 
 necessary means of raising an army. They 
 were without money in the public treasury, and 
 already deeply in debt. It is true, there were 
 men ready and willing to spill their blood in 
 defense of the liberties of their country ; but an 
 army requires provisions, and baggage-wagons, 
 and clothing for the soldiers, and cannon and 
 muskets, and powder and lead, and many other 
 things that can hardly be procured without 
 either money or credit. 
 
 In this gloomy and distressful condition, 
 many of the Whigs on the east of the moun- 
 tains brought their families, for shelter and 
 protection, to the settlements of Watauga and 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 97 
 
 Nolicliiicky. All who came were received with 
 open arms, fed and sheltered in the poor but 
 hospitable cabins of the pioneers. The tales 
 told by these refugees, of their sufferings from 
 British insolence and Tory rapacity, and of the 
 down-trodden country they had been forced to 
 leave, were not without their natural influence 
 upon the bold and generous population of the 
 w^est. Many of them, singly or in small com- 
 panies, crossed the mountains, determined to do 
 what they could to help the few Whigs who still 
 refused to lay down their arms at the bidding 
 of Lord Cornwallis, the British commander. 
 
 The tw^o Colonels — Shelby and Sevier — hav- 
 ing united their own small bands wdth those led 
 by Colonel Clarke, of Geoi'gia, and Colonel 
 Williams, of South Carolina, were a])le to strike 
 some effective blows against the royal troops. 
 They captured a Tory leader. Colonel Moore, 
 and his whole party, o^ more than a hundred 
 men. Near Enoree River they fought and 
 defeated a superior body of Tories and British 
 regulars, but were then compelled to retreat 
 to the west of the mountains. In short, so brave 
 and skillful, and, at the same time, so successful 
 were they, in these irregular attempts, that 
 the British officers dreaded nothing so much 
 4 
 
98 # OLD times; oh, 
 
 as to encounter the deadly aim of the frontier 
 riflemen. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, intending to march his army 
 into North Carolina, sent forward Colonel Fergu- 
 son to prepare the way, by rousing up the Tories 
 to join his standard. This officer found hardly 
 anybody to oppose his progress in Western Car- 
 olina. For a time the Whig spirit seemed to 
 be almost crushed out, and he just marched 
 through the country, doing his Avill among the 
 inhabitants, as if they were a conquered people. 
 From the eastern edge of the mountains, he 
 threatened to cross over, and subdue the western 
 settlements. He even sent an insolent message 
 to Shelby and Sevier, telling them if they did 
 not wish to have their "hornet's nest" burnt 
 out, they had better be quiet, and stay at home. 
 
 This message l*eached Watauga in the month 
 of August, 1780. Immediately the nest was in 
 an uproar. Shelby and Sevier consulted to- 
 gether, and resolved that they w^ould raise as 
 many mounted riflemen as they could in Wash- 
 ington and Sullivan counties, as also from the 
 western part of Virginia, and meet Ferguson 
 on the east of the mountains. Under leaders in 
 whom they had such confidence, every man in 
 the two counties was ready to volunteer; but 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 99 
 
 some must be left to guard the women and chil- 
 dren against the hostile Indians. So they 
 selected two hundred and forty men from each 
 county, and Colonel Campbell, of Washington 
 county, Va., soon after joined them with a force 
 of four hundred mounted riflemen, the flower 
 of the Virginia border. To these were added 
 a few refugee Whigs, under Colonel McDowell, 
 of North Carolina. 
 
100 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 BATTLE OF KING's MOUNTAIN. 
 
 On the 25th of September, 1780, these troops 
 were assembled at Watauga, ready and eager 
 to be led against their ovv-n and their country's 
 enemy. And we may feel safe in saying that 
 nowhere in America, or out of it, could a thou- 
 sand men have been collected better qualified 
 for the work before them. They were as patri- 
 otic Whigs as Patrick Henry or Samuel Adams, 
 and as determined to vindicate the liberties of 
 America as the President of Congress, or the 
 Commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary 
 Army. Every man of them was a horseman 
 and marksman by daily practice from boyhood, 
 and had faced the Cherokees too often, to be 
 startled at the sight of an armed enemy. Be- 
 sides, they knew each other well, and that in 
 the hour of battle there would be no flincher 
 in the ranks. 
 
 Still, there was very little of the outside of 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOKY. 101 
 
 soldiers about these brave men. They were 
 dressed in the homespun which their wives and 
 sisters had spun, and wove, and made up. No 
 military gewgaws, epaulets, and sashes were 
 dangling about them; but each man, officers 
 and all, carried a shot-pouch, a knife, a knap- 
 sack, and a blanket, with his trusty rifle on his 
 shoulder. Thus equipped, they were formed in 
 close order around a clergyman present, who in 
 a solemn and fervent prayer commended them 
 to the protection of the God of battles. With 
 this last preparation, the word was given to 
 move, and, facing toward the mountains, they 
 commenced the rapid march in search of 
 Colonel Ferguson and his marauding bands. 
 • Upon arriving at the settled parts of the 
 country east of the mountains, they were, almost 
 every hour, joined by individuals and small 
 parties of Carolina Whigs, who, though routed 
 and scattered, were ready to march under the 
 banner of their country, wherever they could 
 find it. Among others, they were reenforced by 
 Colonel Cleveland and Colonel Wilkes, with 
 several hundred men, and also by Colonel Wil- 
 liams, of South Carolina, with about four hun- 
 dred more. Colonel McDowell, who was en- 
 titled by his rank to command the whole, had 
 
102 OLD times; or, 
 
 gone in search of the head-quarters of the 
 American Ai-my, to get a general officer to 
 take the command. But the remaining officers 
 resolved not to wait, but to go at once in pur- 
 suit of Ferguson. 
 
 That commander, by this time, had heard of 
 the storm that was coming upon him from the 
 west. He was then posted at Gilberttown, in 
 Eutherford county. Upon the approach of the 
 army under Shelby, he left that place in order 
 to avoid a battle, until he could receive help 
 from the Tories, and from Lord Cornwallis, who 
 was encamped at Charlotte. The pursuers, sus- 
 pecting his motives, only pushed after him with 
 more rapidity. Two days before the battle, 
 they selected from the whole army about nine 
 hundred men, with the best horses, and hurried 
 on ahead, leaving those mounted on slow and 
 tired animals to follow more at leisure. 
 
 For the last thirty-six hours of the pursuit, 
 this advanced party were never out of the saddle 
 but for an hour. At length they learned from 
 people whom they met, that Colonel Ferguson 
 had halted about three miles from them, and 
 had posted his men on the ridge of a high hill, 
 in order of battle. This was about twelve 
 o'clock, and it had rained hard all the forenoon. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 103 
 
 But the clouds now cleared v.Vsaj, and the sun 
 shone brilliantly, while the ofiicers held a short 
 council, to arrange the plan of attack. The 
 men busied themselves in putting their rifles in 
 good order, especially in putting in fre.sh and 
 dry powder for priming, in place of that which 
 had been wet by the rain. Percussion-caps had 
 not then been invented, but they used flint- 
 locks to fire their rifles. 
 
 They were soon again in rapid motion toward 
 Ferguson's camp ; but when within a mile of it, 
 they met a man hurrying with a letter from that 
 oflicer to Lord Cornwallis, stating his situation, 
 and asking for reenforcements as soon as pos- 
 sible. In this letter, which was taken from the 
 express, Ferguson said to his commander that 
 he was encamped on a hill, which he had 
 named King's Mountain, in honor of the King 
 of England, and that "all the rebels out of 
 hell should not drive him from it." The troops 
 then moved forward at a gallop, until they were 
 in full view of the enemy's camp. Here there 
 was a short halt, while the officers were making 
 an examination of the ground, a,nd some hasty 
 arrangements for the battle. 
 
 And now, young readers, we are not going 
 to describe to von the battle of Kino-'s Moun- 
 
104 ' OLD times; or, 
 
 tain, for two reasons. The first is, that you 
 could not understand such matters, even when 
 well described; and the second is, that we do 
 not ourselves comprehend such operations well 
 enough to describe them. Let it satisfy us to 
 know that, after an hour's hard fighting, the 
 Americans were victorious, and that Colonel 
 Ferguson and every man of his army were 
 either slain or made prisoners. Some of the 
 special incidents and results of the battle shall 
 be noticed in the next chapter. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 incidents and results of the battle of 
 king's mountain. 
 
 In this battle, t-wo hundred and twenty-five 
 of the enemy vrere killed, one hundred and 
 eighty wounded, and seven hundred made pris- 
 oners. The Americans also got possession of 
 fifteen hundred guns, and many horses and 
 wagons loaded with supplies. The wagons they 
 burned on the spot, as they could not take them 
 over the mountains for the want of roads. The 
 Americans had thirty killed, and about sixty 
 wounded. Among the killed was the gallant 
 Colonel Williams, who fell in making a daring 
 charge at the person of the British com- 
 mander. Major Chronicle was slain early in 
 the battle. 
 
 Of Colonel Campbell's regiment, three of 
 the Edmondsons, and ten others, were killed. 
 Colonel Sevier had in his regiment six of his 
 own name, amongst them tv/o brotliers and two 
 
106 OLD times; or, 
 
 sons. Of the sons, one \vas only sixteen years 
 old. Captain Robert Sevier, brother of the 
 Colonel, died of his wounds a foAV days after the 
 battle. The names of those killed on the side 
 of the enemy are not known, except that of 
 Colonel Ferguson. He obstinately refused to 
 surrender at every stage of the fight, and twice 
 cut down a white flag which the Tories had 
 raised as a sign of submission. However we 
 may detest the service in which he was em- 
 ployed," we may not deny that he Vv^as a brave 
 man, and an able and faithful officer. 
 
 This memorable battle was fought on Satur- 
 day, the 7th of October. The Americans 
 camped on the ground that night, buried the 
 dead of both parties on Sunday morning, and 
 then commenced their return march, as they 
 could not think of remaining so near to the 
 large army of Lord Corn wal lis. They had more 
 prisoners than there were American soldiers to 
 guard them; besides, the arms captured from 
 the enemy were to be taken along by some 
 means. Well, they just took the flints out of 
 the locks, so that the guns could not be fired, 
 and made the prisoners carry them, while the 
 Americans kept close behind them with their 
 rifles loaded. Ten or twelve miles on their way, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 107 
 
 they met their friends whom they had left be- 
 hind two days before the battle. 
 
 "When they thought themselves at a safe dis- 
 tance from the main British Army, they halted 
 and held a court-martial, for the trial of some 
 of the Tory prisoners that were known to have 
 robbed and murdered Whigs. The court con- 
 demned thirty to be hung, but only nine of the 
 worst were actually executed, the others being 
 let off with some lighter punishment. Among 
 those put to death, was the same Grimes that 
 had been run off from the neighborhood of Wa- 
 tauga for the murder of a Whig. Our young 
 readers must understand that these men were 
 not punished because they were the public 
 enemies of the country, but for the crimes they 
 had done as private individuals. The British 
 and other Tory prisoners were treated kindly, 
 but not allowed to get away. 
 
 The regiments of Campbell and Shelby now 
 directed their march toward the central parts 
 of Virginia, where the prisoners could be safely 
 kept. Colonel Sevier and his men separated 
 from the others, and cut across the mountains 
 toward home. In their short absence, the 
 Cherokees had again begun to threaten the 
 frontiers of Washington county. No doubt 
 
108 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 they had been led to expect that Sevier and his 
 volunteers would never return, but be either 
 killed or captured in the expedition against 
 Ferguson. In that event, they might promise 
 themselves some sport in taking scalps. 
 
 The victory of the Americans at King's 
 Mountain was, in many ways, a most important 
 event. It subdued the hostile spirit of the In- 
 dians, by proving to them that the western 
 riflemen could conquer even British regulars. 
 It quelled the courage of the Tories, for the 
 same reason, and prevented them from joining 
 the army of Lord Cornwallis, as otherwise they 
 would have done. But above all, it was the 
 first serious check to the course of British suc- 
 cess in the Southern States. The down-trodden 
 Whigs began everywhere to raise their heads, 
 and to look hopefully for the success of their 
 cause. In a word, it was the turning-point in 
 the War of the Revolution; and from that 
 time, the prospect continued to brighten, till 
 final victory was consummated in the surrender 
 of the British Army under Cornwallis at York- 
 
 tOVfli. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 109 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 EXPEDITION AGAINST THE CHEEOKEES. 
 
 It was not only in the battle of King's Moun- 
 tain, but on several other occasions, both before 
 and after, that the western riflemen proved their 
 zeal and courage, in defending the liberty of 
 their country against the British and Tories. 
 Whenever they could be spared from guarding 
 their own settlements against Indian attacks, 
 they W'Cre always ready to give help to their 
 countrymen, who, in North and South Carolina, 
 were more exposed than elsewhere to the op- 
 pressions of the public enemy. But these mat- 
 ters belong to a history of the Revolutionary 
 War, and not to that of Tennessee in particular. 
 We will therefore let them pass, and turn our 
 attention again to the condition of the western 
 settlements. 
 
 As mentioned in the last chapter, the Indians 
 took advantage of the absence of Colonel Sevier 
 and his men at King's Mountain, and a large 
 
110 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 party of them were marching against the white 
 settlements when the volunteers reached home. 
 Without resting a single day, Colonel Sevier 
 put himself at the head of about a hundred 
 men, and hastened to meet the advancing sav- 
 ages before they should do any mischief on the 
 frontiers. As soon as they could get ready, a 
 larger body of troops were to follow and join 
 him, in order to march into the Indian territory, 
 and attack the Cherokees at home. 
 
 After crossing French Broad River, the 
 troops met the Indians near Boyd's Creek, and 
 had a pretty severe battle with them. More 
 than twenty of the Indians were left dead on 
 the ground, and a considerable number were 
 carried off w^ounded. Not one of the white men 
 was hurt, though a bullet from an Indian's rifle 
 shaved off the hair on the side of Colonel Se- 
 vier's head. The enemy retreated toward the 
 Cherokee towns, and Colonel Sevier camped in 
 the neighborhood of the battle-ground, to wait 
 for the volunteers that were coming on to join 
 him. 
 
 In a few days, Colonek Campbell, at the head 
 of a regiment from Virginia, and Major Martin 
 with the volunteers of Sullivan county, arrived 
 at the camp. The army being now increased 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. Ill 
 
 to about seven hundred men, the leaders 
 determined to push forward into the Indian 
 towns. The enemy had assembled to oppose 
 their passage across the Little Tennessee, but 
 dispersed and fled at sight of the volunteers, and 
 without firing a gun. The towns of Chota, Chil- 
 howe, Hiwassee, and many others, were burned, 
 and the cattle and other property of the Indians 
 destroyed. To our young readers it may seem 
 very cruel thus to deprive the Indian women 
 and children of shelter and food at the begin- 
 ning of winter ; but it was a necessary measure 
 of self-preservation for the white men, who had 
 no other means of punishing the savages for 
 their cruel hostilities. The troops were com- 
 pelled either to do this, or suffer their own wives 
 and children to be murdered, and their own 
 property carried off by the Indians. 
 
 The volunteers then continued their march 
 to the Chickamauga towns, and even a consid- 
 erable distance into what is now the State of 
 Alabama. The Indian warriors ventured no- 
 where to oppose them, and consequently they 
 w^ere forced to do here as they had done on the 
 Tennessee — that is, to destroy the w'igwam.s, pro- 
 visions, and cattle, wherever they could find 
 them. In their route, they found in one of the 
 
112 OLD times; or, 
 
 towns a white man, who was proved to be a 
 British agent, that stayed among the Cherokees 
 for the purpose of persuading and bribing them 
 to make war upon the white settlers. It is not 
 necessary to say what was done wdth him. They 
 also found and brought home several young 
 white persons that the Indians had taken cap- 
 tive, and kept as slaves. 
 
 In this place it may be well to take notice, 
 that the Indians did not always kill their pris- 
 oners. It w^as indeed very seldom that a grown 
 person was spared ; but children were frequently 
 kept by them as a sort of servants to help the 
 squaws in their work. After awhile the cap- 
 tives w'ould be adopted into the tribe, and con- 
 sidered and treated, in all respects, as Indians. 
 In some instances, after staying some years with 
 the savages, these young persons would become 
 fond of that kind of life, and be unwilling to 
 return and live with their white relatives and 
 friends. Sometimes an Indian would save 
 the life of a prisoner, for the sake of selling 
 him back to his family for a high price — that 
 is, for a rifle or a Ions; knife. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 113 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 TROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 The expedition spoken of in the last chapter 
 was followed by several others, undertaken 
 against different Indian towns. Especially one, 
 under the command of Colonel Sevier himself, 
 was entirely successful in breaking up some 
 strongholds of the Indians, called the* middle 
 towns, and situated in the mountains about the 
 head- waters of the Little Tennessee. By these 
 various disasters the Cherokees were much dis- 
 abled, and disposed, at least for some time, to 
 behave themselves peaceably. In consequence 
 of this state of things, the settlements were rap- 
 idly advanced, and early in the year 1782, a 
 few cabins might be seen scattered along the 
 south side of the French Broad River. 
 
 On the 15th of August, 1782, the first Circuit 
 Court ever held in Tennessee, under the author- 
 ity of North Carolina, commencetl it^^ session at 
 Jonesborough. Honorable Spruce IMcCay was 
 
114 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 the Judge ; Waightstill Avery, Attorney for tlie 
 Sttite, and John Sevier, Clerk. In the next 
 year, Washington county was again divided, 
 and a new county formed, with the name of 
 Greene, in honor of General Nathanael Greene, 
 of the Continental Army. About the same 
 time, the General Assembly of North Carolina 
 passed a law, fixing the boundary line between 
 the Indians and the white settlers. But as the 
 Cherokees were not consulted in this matter, 
 the claim of the State to the described line had 
 still to be made good by western rifles. 
 
 About this time, also, a great quantity of land 
 in East .Tennessee was disposed of by the Gov- 
 ernment of North Carolina. Some of this was 
 given to the soldiers who had served in the 
 Kevolutionary War, and some was sold to any 
 one who would buy it. North Carolina, like the 
 other States, was very much in debt, and the 
 lands thus sold were generally paid for, not in 
 money, but in claims against the State called 
 specie certificates. The price of the land, as fixed 
 by law, was ten pounds per hundred acres. 
 Ten pounds, Carolina currency, being equal to 
 twenty dollars, we see that the fine bottoms in 
 East Tennessee, now worth fifty dollars per acre, 
 were then bought for twenty cents. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 115 
 
 It had now been fourteen years since the 
 fii-st cabin was built by Captain Bean, at Wa- 
 tauga, and the settlements had not yet ad- 
 vanced farther west than the French Broad. 
 But they had become every year stronger 
 and more populous, and, except on the western 
 and southern outskirts, there was no longer 
 any use for stations, or any great dread of 
 Indian massacres. And, although game was 
 still plentiful, people did not "miss a dinner 
 because the rifle snapped." Sufiicient land had 
 been cleared to raise *an abundance of corn and 
 other crops, and the farmers had plenty of cattle 
 and hogs, and they were always fat. Even some 
 apples and peaches had now been raised, for 
 the delight of the robust boys and ruddy girls 
 of Watauga and Nolichucky. 
 
 Still, in all this plenty of the substantial 
 means of living, the people enjoyed no lux- 
 uries and few conveniences. They had some 
 water-mills to grind corn, but no means of 
 making good flour. Even their salt had to be 
 brought from Augusta, in Georgia, on pack- 
 horses, and sometimes cost as high as ten dollars 
 per bushel. The sugar they used was made 
 from the trees in the forest; but as to coflee and 
 tea, these were hardly seen amongst them. The 
 
IIG OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 first court-house built in Jonesborough had a 
 roof of shingles, put on with wooden pegs in- 
 stead of nails, and probably there was not a 
 pane of window-glass west of the mountains. 
 
 Amidst these great discomforts, as they may 
 now seem to us, the inhabitants felt themselves 
 contented and happy, and, as far as circum- 
 stances would allow, turned their attention to 
 the best means of improving their social condi' 
 tion. In every neighborhood where a sufficient 
 number of pupils — boys and girls together — 
 could be collected, the huifible log school-house 
 was set up, in which reading, writing, and com- 
 mon arithmetic were taught. Perhaps the 
 number of houses for preaching and Christian 
 worship was nearly equal to that of school- 
 houses, and often the same building was used 
 for both purposes. The preachers, of several 
 denominations, were supported by the voluntary 
 kindness and hospitality of the people. 
 
 The Revolutionary War, which had lasted 
 eight years, was now at an end, and Great 
 Britain had acknowledged the thirteen prov- 
 inces to be free and independent States. The 
 war had left the people poor, and the govern- 
 ments in debt, but still with the means of es- 
 tablishing a great and prosperous nation, if they 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 117 
 
 could only be brought to act with prudence and 
 moderation. As to the people of the Tennessee 
 settlements, it was no new thing for them to be 
 free. They had been accustomed to govern 
 themselves, and to take care of their own affairs, 
 from the time they first crossed the mountains. 
 In the next three chapters, we shall see how 
 they behaved on this occasion. 
 
118 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE STATE OF FEANKLIN. 
 
 "When the Revolutionary War commenced, 
 the thirteen provinces appointed delegates from 
 each one, to meet together in Philadelphia, to 
 consult for the public good, and to manage the 
 war against Great Britain. It was agreed, by 
 a written instrument, that this body of delegates, 
 called the "Continental Congress," should have 
 power to do certain things, but not others. 
 Among the rest, this written instrument, called 
 "Articles of Confederation," gave authority to 
 the Congress to tax the States, but not to collect 
 the tax from the people. This was to be done 
 by the State Governments, and if they did not 
 force the people to pay the tax, the law of Con- 
 gress could do no good toward raising money. 
 These "Articles of Confederation" regulated 
 the power of Congress, till the year 1787, 
 when the present "Constitution of the United 
 States" was made and agreed to by the States. 
 
TENNESSEE IIISTOEY. 119 
 
 At the close of the war, the Congress and the 
 State Governments were deeply in debt, for ex- 
 penses in carrying it on. The Congress could 
 not force the people to pay taxes, and the States 
 would not, or at least did not. Indeed, the war 
 had so entirely cut off the Americans from all 
 trade with the rest of the world, that there was 
 scarcely any money in the country with which 
 taxes could be paid. In this difficulty, several 
 of the States, amongst them jS'orth Carolina, 
 gave up to Congress all their vacant lands west 
 of the mountains, so that by the sale of them 
 the public debt might be paid. In this way, as 
 the debt was mostly due to our own people, 
 if they could not get money, they might have 
 land for their claims. 
 
 In the month of June, 1784, the General 
 Assembly of North Carolina passed a law, 
 granting to Congress all the territory belonging 
 to that State between the Alleghany Mountains 
 and the Mississippi River. The counties of 
 Washington, Sullivan, and Greene, lying in this 
 territory, were thus cut off from North Carolina. 
 The General Assembly, in the act of cession, 
 gave to Congress two years to determine 
 whether they would take the territory or not, 
 and, during that time, it was to be under the 
 
120 OLD times; or, 
 
 government of North Carolina. The members 
 from the western counties in the General As- 
 sembly voted for this act, as they were willing 
 and expected soon to be organized into a sepa- 
 rate State. 
 
 For reasons that we cannot well explain here, 
 the Congress did not at once accept the terri- 
 tory thus granted to them, and the inhabitants 
 of the western counties were left without any 
 regular, lawful government. It is true, that 
 North Carolina had reserved to herself the right 
 to govern them during the two years of sus- 
 pense ; but it was taken for granted that they 
 would not long continue to be a part of that 
 State, therefore very little attention was bestow^ed 
 upon them by her authorities. In those times, 
 before fast traveling by railways had been 
 thought of, a community so extensive as North 
 Carolina and Tennessee together, was considered 
 too large to be conveniently managed; and 
 therefore it had been expected, on all hands, 
 that the territory w^est of the mountains would, 
 at some time, be formed into a distinct govern- 
 ment. * 
 
 Well, the people of the three counties thought 
 the time had now arrived, and immediately set 
 about the work of providing a government for 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 121 
 
 themselves. Delegates, elected by each cap- 
 tain's company, met together to consult about 
 the best manner of proceeding. This conven- 
 tion recommended to the people to elect dele- 
 gates to another convention, for the purpose of 
 forming a constitution for the new State, and 
 putting it into operation. This convention was 
 held accordingly, a constitution formed, and 
 provision made for electing a governor, mem- 
 bers of the Legislature, and other officers. To 
 the new State was given the name of Franklin, 
 in honor of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the great 
 American philosopher and patriot. 
 
 Between the times of holding the two con- 
 ventions, the General Assembly of North Caro- 
 lina had repealed the " cession act," by which 
 the territory had been granted to Congress, and 
 also passed several laws for the convenience 
 and satisfaction of the western counties. A 
 good many of those who had at first been in 
 favor of forming a separate State, were satis- 
 fied with these proceedings of North Carolina, 
 and were willing to continue under her juris- 
 diction. Among these was Colonel Sevier, 
 who had been the president of the first conven- 
 tion, and had lately been appointed brigadier- 
 general of the western militia. But the majority 
 
122 OLD times; or, 
 
 were still for separation, and the business pro- 
 ceeded accordingly. General Sevier presided 
 also over the convention that framed the con- 
 stitution. 
 
 As provided for by the convention, members 
 were elected to the Legislature of Franklin, and 
 held their first session at Jonesborough in 1785. 
 Among their first acts v/as the appointment of 
 a governor, and that ofiice was bestowed on 
 General Sevier. By the constitution of the new 
 State, the governor, judges, and many other 
 officers, were appointed by the Legislature, that 
 are elected by the people under the present 
 constitution of Tennessee. David Campbell, 
 Joshua Gist, and John Anderson, were the three 
 judges appointed by the Legislature at this 
 session. 
 
 At this session of the General Assembly of 
 Franklin, among other good laws passed for 
 the better regulation of the new State, and the 
 benefit of the people, was one to establish " Mar- 
 tin Academy." This was the first institution 
 of learning established by law in what is now 
 Tennessee — full of colleges, academies, and 
 high schools. The first teacher was the Eev. 
 Samuel Doak, a Presbyterian clergyman, who 
 had received his education at Princeton College, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOEY. 123 
 
 in New Jersey. For many years this school, 
 kept in a log cabin, was the only one, west 
 of the mountains, where boys could be taught 
 Latin and Greek, and in it were educated many 
 of the leadinfr men of Tennessee. 
 
124 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 STATE OF FRANKLIN. 
 
 As might have been expected, the proceed- 
 ings related in the foregoing chapter were qnite 
 distasteful to the government and people of 
 North Carolina. While they expressed a will- 
 ingness that the territory w^est of the mountains 
 should, in a proper way, and at a proper time, 
 become an independent State, they condemned, 
 as irregular and unlawful, the course which the 
 inhabitants had actually adopted. The conse- 
 quence was, that a warm controversy sprung 
 up between the authorities of the two States. 
 The Governor of North Carolina issued his 
 proclamation, asserting the rights of the parent 
 State, and warning the people against giving 
 countenance and support to the new govern- 
 ment. This naturally called out a reply from 
 Governor Sevier, in which he undertook to 
 justify what had been done by the people of 
 the western counties. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. ' 125 
 
 But a still warmer controversy arose among 
 the western people themselves. Many of them 
 had, from the first, been opposed to the measure 
 of forming a new State, and many others were 
 dissatisfied with the constitution proposed. A 
 third convention rejected that constitution, and, 
 after a good deal of debate, finally agreed to 
 adopt the constitution of North Carolina, with 
 a few alterations. The angry discussions in the 
 convention were taken up by the 'people, who 
 were soon divided into two distinct parties, the 
 one favoring the new State, and the other the 
 old. Everywhere, in public and in private, 
 men talked of little else than this absorbing 
 subject. 
 
 In the meantime, the General Assembly of 
 North Carolina continued to make laws, and to 
 appoint ofiicers for the western counties, as if 
 still a part of the old State, and as if no separate 
 government had been instituted. Thus was pre- 
 sented the strange and dangerous condition of 
 two governments and two sets of officers, exercis- 
 ing authority over the same people at the same 
 time. The people were required to serve two 
 masters at once, which the Bible tells us cannot 
 be done. Even our young readers can see that 
 if two teachers in the same school should make 
 
126 OLD times; or, 
 
 contradictory rules — ^the one forbidding what 
 the other required to be done — it would be im- 
 posssible to obey both. 
 
 This state of things lasted for two years or 
 more ; and the great wonder is, that the western 
 settlements w^ere not entirely ruined by it. 
 But the people, on both sides, had been so 
 practiced in self-government, and so much ac- 
 customed to think for themselves, understood so 
 well their own rights, and so much respected 
 the rights of others — in a word, were so prudent 
 and patriotic, that much less mischief grew out 
 of the collision of authorities than might have 
 been exjoected. True, there were violent quar- 
 rels in public, and bitter enmities in private — 
 the two parties sometimes broke up each other's 
 courts, destroyed the records, and resisted the 
 officers; and in these struggles, first and last, 
 two or three men were killed. Still, there was 
 nothing like general violence or insecurity to 
 life or property. 
 
 As Governor of Franklin, General Sevier ex- 
 erted himself to maintain the authority and the 
 dignity of the new State, while he did his whole 
 duty in guarding the frontier against Indian hos- 
 tilities. The seat of the Franklin Government 
 was at Greeneville, in Greene county; and 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 127 
 
 in that county the friends of the new State were 
 much stronger than the other party. The " Old 
 State" men, under the lead of Colonel Tipton, 
 made their head-quarters at Jonesborough, where 
 a majority of the people were of that side. 
 Between these two popular and influential men 
 — Sevier and Tipton — there sprung up a bitter 
 personal hatred, which they manifested upon 
 all occasions. 
 
 At the end of two years, Governor Sevier's 
 term of office expired, and he became a private 
 citizen. With his usual zeal and activity, 
 however, he was soon at the head of a band of 
 volunteers, driving back the Cherokees, and 
 securing peace and safety to the exposed settle- 
 ments. Happening about this time to visit 
 Jonesborough, he was arrested, at the instiga- 
 tion of Colonel Tipton, on a w^aiTant issued 
 under the authority of North Carolina, and 
 taken across the mountains to JMorganton, in 
 Burke county, to be tried for high treason. He 
 was considered to be guilty of this crime, be- 
 cause he had attempted to overthrovv^ the Gov- 
 ernment of North Carolina in the western 
 counties. 
 
 As soon as the news of this proceeding was 
 spread among the people, a company of his 
 
128 OLD times; or, 
 
 friends — among them his two sons — armed 
 themselves, mounted their horses, and crossed 
 the mountains, with a determination to bring 
 him back at all hazards. When this party 
 reached Morganton, they found the court in 
 session, and the trial of Governor Sevier going 
 on. The most of them waited outside of the 
 town, while two men rode into the court-yard, 
 leading Sevier's fine race-mare, ready saddled. 
 One of them stayed with the horses, while the 
 other went in, and gave a sign to Sevier, who 
 was sitting in the prisoner's box. He instantly 
 sprung from his seat and out of the door, and 
 in a second was on the back of his favorite 
 racer. There was some appearance of pursuit, 
 but no earnest effort to retake the prisoner, 
 and the Governor and his friends rode home at 
 their leisure. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 129 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 STATE OF FRANKLIN. 
 
 During all these difficulties, the Government 
 of North Carolina acted with the utmost pru- 
 dence and forbearance toward the supporters 
 of the new State. Instead of attempting to 
 enforce its rights by an appeal to arms and 
 bloodshed, the General Assembly of that State 
 employed itself in enacting such laws, and 
 making such regulations, as seemed best suited 
 to soothe and conciliate the western people. 
 Among others, it passed an act granting a par- 
 don for all offenses committed against that 
 State, in supporting the Government of Frank- 
 lin. It was also declared that all official acts, 
 done by the officers of Franklin, should be good 
 and valid, as if done by the authority of North 
 Carolina. 
 
 As John Sevier was the first, so he was the last. 
 Governor of the State of Franklin. The Legis- 
 lature never met after his term, and the whole 
 5 
 
130 OLD times; or, 
 
 organization crumbled to pieces like frost-work. 
 In the act of pardon mentioned above, it was 
 declared that John Sevier should not be allowed 
 to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, 
 under the State of North Carolina. But this 
 was merely to save appearances. Except a few 
 personal enemies, no one desired that he should 
 be punished or disabled in any way; and the 
 very next year, being elected a member of the 
 General Assembly by the people of Greene 
 county, the law against him was repealed, and 
 he was permitted to take his seat upon the same 
 footing as the other members. 
 
 In the meantime, in the year 1787, the pres- 
 ent Constitution of the United States had been 
 formed to take the place of the "Articles of 
 Confederation," and had been accepted by 
 North Carolina, as well as the other States. 
 The counties west of the mountains had been 
 laid off into a Congressional District, and John 
 Sevier was elected the first member of Congress 
 from that District. It appears from the Journal 
 that he took his seat in the Hall of Kepresenta- 
 tives on the 16th of June, 1790, as a member 
 from North Carolina. Thus ended the short- 
 lived State of Franklin, and all that is now 
 the State of Tennessee Avas again a part of 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 131 
 
 North Carolina, with a little exception, which 
 I must mention. 
 
 While the State of Franklin was maintained,, 
 commissioners acting under its authority, made 
 a treaty with the Cherokees, by which the latter 
 ceded some territory south of the French Broad 
 River. The territory thus obtained was speedily 
 settled, and organized into the county of Sevier. 
 As the treaty was not made by the authority 
 of North Carolina, and that State would not 
 regard the acts of the State of Franklin as 
 lawful, the county of Sevier, after the downfall 
 of the latter State, w^as held to be Indian terri- 
 tory ; consequently the law^s of North Carolina 
 did not extend to it, and the people were left to 
 shift for themselves. By voluntary association 
 they managed to live peaceably and prosper- 
 ously, till, in 1790, the whole country was ceded 
 to the United States. 
 
 Before finally closing the history of the State 
 of Franklin, it may be well to notice some little 
 circumstances, which will give a fair and forci- 
 ble idea of the state of the country, in respect 
 to the scarcity of money, and the ordinary way 
 of doing business among the people. The 
 annual salary of Governor Sevier was two hun- 
 dred pounds, and those of the inferior officers in 
 
132 OLD times; or, 
 
 proportion. Supposing, as is likely, that North 
 Carolina pounds are meant, then Governor 
 Sevier received just four hundred dollars a year. 
 The Governor of Tennessee now has three 
 thousand — more than seven times as much. A 
 Judge of the Circuit Court, under the laws of 
 Franklin, was paid three hundred dollars per 
 year for his services : the same officer now gets 
 two thousand. 
 
 But farther : all taxes in the State of Frank- 
 lin might, according to law, be paid, not in 
 money, but in articles of country produce at 
 fixed prices. Linsey cloth was to be taken at 
 three shillings per yard ; beaver-skins, six shil- 
 lings apiece ; fox and raccoon-skins, one shilling 
 and three pence; tallow, six pence per pound; 
 beeswax, one shilling ; rye whisky, two shillings 
 and six pence per gallon ; country-made sugar, 
 one shilling per pound; deer-skins, six shillings 
 apiece ; bacon, six pence per pound ; and so of 
 other articles. As the taxes might be paid in 
 this way, so might the salaries of all the State 
 officers. It used to be said, in waggery, that 
 the Governor was paid in mink-skins. 
 . This want of money does not prove that the 
 people were poor. Their cribs and fields were 
 full of corn, and their smoke-houses of meat, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 133 
 
 and every traveler was welcomed to all that 
 himself and his horse could consume. No one 
 thought of receiving pay for a meal of victuals, 
 or, as it used to be expressed, "hog and hom- 
 iny" were free for all comers. The scarcity of 
 money, arising from the want of foreign trade, 
 caused the people to barter one article for 
 another, instead of selling and buying as w^e 
 now do. "We have seen that, without the im- 
 provements and conveniences of our time, the 
 early settlers of Tennessee displayed the noblest 
 virtues that dignify and adorn human nature. 
 Let us hope that, as we rise above them in re- 
 spect to the former, we may not fall below their 
 standard in the latter. 
 
134 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTEE^ XXVIII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 During the existence of the Franklin Gov- 
 ernment, and amidst the political confusion of 
 the times, the western frontier advanced per- 
 haps more rapidly than at any previous period. 
 The War of the Eevolution being ended, the 
 soldiers of the North Carolina line came, in 
 great numbers, to the west, to take possession 
 of the lands that had been given to them in 
 payment for their military services. In the 
 year 1787, the settlements extended down the 
 Holston as far as where Knoxville now stands. 
 Among the first settlers in what is now Knox 
 county, are to be found the names of White, 
 Connor, Armstrong, Campbell, Gillespie, Cavet, 
 Gilliam, etc. James White occupied and owned 
 the tract of land on which the town of Knox- 
 ville has since grown up. 
 
 On the south of Holston, the settlements ex- 
 tended as far west as the Little Tennessee. By 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 135 
 
 looking on a map, our young readers will see 
 that the settlements, in what is now East Ten- 
 nessee, were bounded nearly as follows: Com- 
 mencing at the Virginia line, and running 
 south-west along the Alleghany Ridge, as the 
 line now runs betwee# this State and North 
 Carolina, to the head-waters of the Little 
 Tennessee; from thence north to the present 
 Kentucky line; then east with that line to 
 the beginning. But there were some portions, 
 outside of this line, where there were a few 
 scattered cabins, and some parts inside of it 
 were very thinly settled. The number of white 
 persons then in that whole region was probably 
 thirty thousand — much less than there are now 
 in some single counties of Tennessee. 
 
 There w^as probably no time, in the early 
 history of JEast Tennessee, when the frontiers 
 were more securely guarded against Indian 
 hostilities, than under the Franklin Govern- 
 ment. Still, now and then, a family would be 
 murdered by skulking Cherokees, and more 
 frequently horses, cattle, and other property 
 stolen and carried off. We have given few 
 details of these massacres at any time, because 
 we did not choose to harrow up the feelings of 
 our young friends with such descriptions of 
 
136 • OLD times; or, 
 
 blood and suffering as could impart to thera 
 little useful information. There is one account, 
 however, of a scene which passed about this 
 time, that we will relate for the purpose of 
 showing w^hat the women, in those days, were 
 capable of doing, and f#m what sort of grand- 
 mothers the men of the "Volunteer State" are 
 descended. 
 
 Captain Gillespie had built his cp.bin south 
 of Plolston, at a considerable distance from his 
 nearest neighbor. He had been busy in burn- 
 ing cane and clearing a field, but had occasion 
 one day to leave home and go a distance of ten 
 or twelve miles. A party of Indians, who had 
 been lurking about for several days, found out 
 that he was gone, and that nobody was at tlie 
 cabin but his wife and little children. They 
 immediately entered the house, in a hectoring 
 and ferocious manner, and began to do what 
 they pleased with the provisions, and whatever 
 else it contained. Mrs. Gillespie stood it all 
 quietly, thinking that her ovm life, and the 
 lives of her children, depended upon not pro- 
 voking the savages. 
 
 At length one of the Indians took out his 
 scalping-knife and walked to the cradle, where 
 the baby was sleeping, making motions as if he 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 137 
 
 were going to scalp it. AVhat did the mother 
 do then? Did she scream and faint? Nothing 
 of the sort. Although she knew very well there 
 were no white men within miles of her, she 
 calmly walked to the door, and called out for 
 the men in the clearing to "come and drive 
 away these nasty Indians." The savages, in a 
 panic, bolted out of the house, and soon hid 
 themselves in the cane. As soon as they were 
 out of sight, Mrs. Gillespie took her children 
 and ran off on the trail that she knew her hus- 
 band must follow in returning home. 
 
 She met him two or three miles from the 
 cabin, and she and her little ones were taken to 
 the nearest station for safety. Captain Gilles- 
 pie, with two or three friends, then came back 
 to see what had happened at home. The In- 
 dians, finding that they were not pursued as 
 they had expected, had come back in the mean- 
 time, had robbed the house of every thing they 
 wanted, and were just trying to set fire to it, 
 when Gillespie and his party rode up. They 
 at once fired upon the Indians, wounding two 
 of them, and, in the pursuit, recovering all the 
 stolen goods. 
 
 j\Iany incidents, similar to this, happened in 
 the early settlement of Tennessee, the particu- 
 
im 
 
 lars of which are frequently related by the few 
 old pioneers who still linger among us. And 
 do our readers suppose that Mrs. Gillespie, and 
 other frontier mothers like her, were less tender 
 and w^omanly, because they knew how to man- 
 age Indians? Not so; but the trying circum- 
 stances in which they lived had taught them 
 firmness and self-control, and they knew that 
 screams and fainting fits would not assist their 
 gallant husbands in their deadly struggle w4th 
 the bloody savages of the border. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 139 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE TERRITORY SURRENDERED TO THE UNITED 
 
 STATES. 
 
 By this time — that is, in the year 1789 — the 
 authority of North Carolina was entirely rees- 
 tablished in the western counties, and things 
 were managed just as if the State of Franklin 
 had never existed. But it was soon discovered 
 that this connection was not very agreeable to 
 either party, and not likely long to continue. 
 The western people complained, and not with- 
 out some reason, that the Government of North 
 Carolina did not act a liberal part toward them, 
 and refused to spend any money for the im- 
 provement and protection of the territory on 
 this side of the mountains. They thought it 
 hard that they should defend themselves against 
 the Indians, and still pay taxes into the treasury 
 of the parent State. 
 
 On the other hand, the people in the eastern 
 portion of the State had begun to look upon 
 
140 
 
 the western colonies as a trouble and a burden. 
 Every claim presented against the treasury of 
 the State, for services rendered or jDroperty lost 
 in the Indian wars, was grudgingly paid, as an 
 outlay of money by which the country on the 
 east of the mountains could not be benefited. 
 Having no thought that the two portions would 
 continue permanently united, the citizens of the 
 Atlantic counties w^ere naturally unwilling to 
 be taxed for the support and advancement of 
 those who were, in a few years at most, to belong 
 to another State. 
 
 The State of ISTorth Carolina had been very 
 careful to suppress the independent Govern- 
 ment of Franklin, and it might appear strange 
 and whimsical in them to be so willing, in a 
 year or two, to part with their western territory. 
 To explain this, we must bear in mind that 
 what North Carolina wanted with the territory 
 was to pay off her Revolutionary debt with the 
 vacant lands. This could not have been done 
 if the Franklin Government had been perma- 
 nently established, because the lands would then 
 have belonged to the new State. By the course 
 which had been taken, this purpose was now 
 accomplished, and the people of the old State 
 had no farther motive to oppose the separation. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 141 
 
 For these reasons, and perhaps others that 
 have not been mentioned, the General Assem- 
 bly of North Carolina, in the year 1789, passed 
 an act ceding to the Government of the United 
 States all the territory now belonging to the 
 State of Tennessee. Under the direction of the 
 act of Assembly, Samuel Johnson and Benjamin 
 Hawkins, the two Senators in Congress from 
 that State, by a deed, dated on the 25th of 
 February, 1790, made a regular and formal 
 conveyance of the same. Thus peaceably, and 
 with the consent of all parties, the territory was 
 transferred to the United States, and imme- 
 diately accepted by Congress, as a part of the 
 domain of the Federal Government. 
 
 Before this time, Virginia and New York had 
 granted all their vacant western lands to the 
 General Government, and other States did so 
 afterward. In every case, this was done with 
 the understanding that, at a proper time, new 
 States should be organized in the ceded terri- 
 tory, and admitted into the Union upon the 
 same footing as the "Old Thirteen." In this 
 way many new States have been formed, and 
 among them the State of Tennessee. In the 
 meantime, until the population should become 
 sufficient for a State, the territory was under 
 
142 TENNESSEE HISTORY. 
 
 the government of Congress, and the governor, 
 judges, and other officers, were appointed by 
 the President. 
 
 We have now traced the history of East Ten- 
 nessee, from the first settlement at Watauga in 
 1769, till it became a part of the territory of 
 the United States in 1790. So far, we have 
 thought it most convenient to say nothing of 
 another settlement, made shortly after that at 
 Watauga — we mean the colony planted in 
 Middle Tennessee, in the year 1779. These 
 two settlements, in East and Middle Tennessee, 
 were separated from each other by the wilder- 
 ness of the Cumberland Mountains, and grew 
 up for some time with little or no connection 
 or intercourse. But when the frontier of one 
 had been advanced toward the west, and of the 
 other toward the east, till communication had 
 become easy and frequent between them, it 
 would be more convenient to treat them as one 
 community. Hoping that our young readers 
 are not yet tired with the subject, we shall, in 
 the Second Book, bring up the history of 
 Middle Tennessee to the year 1790. 
 
BOOK II 
 
 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 
 
OLD TIIVIES; 
 
 OK, 
 
 TENNESSEE HISTORY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INDIAN TREATIES. 
 
 In the former Book of this history, it was 
 necessary to mention and to explain many 
 things which need not be repeated here. In- 
 deed, all the matters contained in the first five 
 chapters are just as applicable to an account of 
 the Middle Tennessee settlement as they are to 
 that of the older colony in the eastern division 
 of the State. By omitting all such topics in 
 this Book, we shall be able to give a clear and 
 satisfactory account of the settlement on the 
 Cumberland in fewer pages than were required 
 for that on the Watauga. 
 
 (M5) 
 
146 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 Before commencing the narrative of events 
 that occurred in the settlement of Middle Ten- 
 nessee, there are two other subjects which need 
 to be discussed for the better understanding of 
 both the preceding and subsequent parts of this 
 history. One of these regards the treaties or 
 agreements made, from time to time, with "the 
 Indian tribes. Some of these have been men- 
 tioned in the first Book, but the real nature of 
 these transactions deserves to be more fully 
 explained. We speak of treaties by which the 
 white men acquired land from the Indians. 
 
 When we consider the small price usually 
 13aid for large tracts of land, now so valuable, 
 our first thought is apt to be, that the Indians 
 were badly treated — cheated by the superior 
 cunning, or oppressed by the superior power of 
 the whites. But fiirther reflection will be likely 
 to change this first impression. The mistake 
 arises from looking upon the Indians, as the 
 owners of the land, in the same sense that men 
 own land in civilized communities. But is this 
 true? Did the Cherokees have any better right 
 to the soil of Tennessee than the people of North 
 Carolina or Virginia? 
 
 In civilized countries, when a man owns a 
 tract of land, he does so by virtue of some title, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 14T 
 
 which the law has determined to be sufficient — 
 a deed, or grant, or something of that sort. 
 But it would be unreasonable to require any 
 such thing of savages who have not the use of 
 letters. Among them, we should consider it a 
 sufficient title to have the peaceable possession 
 and use of a piece of land for a number of 
 years. Where the Cherokees had built their 
 wigwams, and cultivated their corn-patches, it 
 may be admitted that they were fairly the own- 
 ers of the land which they had thus occupied. 
 
 But were they also the owners of the millions 
 of acres which they merely traveled over in 
 hunting? If so, then it equally belonged to the 
 Pawnees, Chickasaws, or any other tribe, who 
 sometimes hunted there. So that the country 
 did not belong to the Cherokees exclusively, 
 and they could no more sell it to the whites 
 than could the Pawnees. But the Cherokees 
 claimed that the country belonged to them as 
 hunting-grounds, and would have considered it 
 as an unfriendly act if the white men had 
 taken possession without their consent. There- 
 fore it was to keep peace with the Indians, that 
 the white settlers were willing to pay them 
 something for the privilege of occupying the 
 country. They paid, not the value of the lands, 
 
148 OLD times; or, 
 
 but any thing that would satisfy the Indians 
 and keep them in good humor. 
 
 Savages who cannot or will not cultivate the 
 land, must always and everywhere give way to 
 a people who can and will. There is no natural 
 justice in the diotion that a territory capable of 
 supporting a million of agricultural inhabitants, 
 shall be reserved for a few thousand lazy savages 
 to hunt over. But still, the inferior race should 
 be treated with all the kindness and considera- 
 tion that can be safely extended to them. They 
 should be regarded, in some degree, as children, 
 who are to be cared for and protected, and, at 
 the same time, governed and controlled. We 
 will not undertake to say that the people of the 
 United States have, in no instance, practiced 
 cruelty and oppression toward the Indians ; but 
 we rejoice to believe that in general they have 
 been treated as humanely as self-preservation 
 on the part of the whites would allow. 
 
 While the country was under the British 
 Government, nobody could lawfully make 
 treaties with the Indians, and purchase their 
 lands, except those who were appointed or au- 
 thorized for that purpose by the king. After 
 independence was declared, this power of deal- 
 ing with the Indian tribes was lodged in the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 149 
 
 several State Governments, until tliey surren- 
 dered it to the Federal Government, in the 
 present Constitution of the United States. Still, 
 sometimes purchases of Indian territory were 
 made by individuals, or private companies, 
 without lawful authority. A¥e have mentioned 
 some instances of this kind, in the history of the 
 East Tennessee settlements. Generally these 
 transactions were afterward sanctioned by the 
 Government, and produced no farther mischief 
 than some temporary difficulty about land-titles. 
 Of this kind of unauthorized Indian treaties 
 was the celebrated "Transylvania Purchase," 
 made by Richard Henderson & Co., of North 
 Carolina, in the year 1775. For the sum of 
 ten thousand dollars, paid in goods, this com- 
 pany bought of the Cherokees all the lands 
 between the Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers. 
 To this purchase they gave the name of Tran- 
 sylvania, and proceeded to sell it out in small 
 parcels to those who wished to settle the land. 
 It afterward turned out that a large portion 
 of this purchase was in the territory of North 
 Carolina, and the claim of the company came 
 into conflict with the rights of that State. The 
 matter was finally compromised, so that no 
 party suffered any considerable damage. 
 
150 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SPANISH POSSESSIONS AND CLAIJIS IN NORTH 
 AMERICA. 
 
 The other subject, to which we have thought 
 it best to devote a preliminary chapter, regards 
 the North American possessions of Spain, and 
 the policy pursued by the government of that 
 country toward our western settlements. During 
 the time of which we are writing, that nation 
 held extensive possessions, and more extensive 
 claims, that came directly in conflict with those 
 of the North American Union. Florida and 
 Mexico were theirs beyond dispute, but as these 
 places were not in the way of our settlements, 
 extending westward, we need not give them 
 any present consideration. 
 
 But Spain also owned and occupied New Or- 
 leans, and the country on both sides of the 
 Mississippi River toward its mouth. Under 
 the name of the " Province of Louisiana," they 
 also claimed the whole territory watered by 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 151 
 
 that river and its tributaries, from its mouth to 
 the great lakes, and from the Alleghany to the 
 Rocky Mountains. Perhaps it might be more 
 correct to say that they claimed to an indefinite 
 distance east and west of the Mississippi. Their 
 title to the country was derived from the 
 French, who had settled New Orleans, and a 
 few spots all along the Mississippi and Ohio, 
 as far as Canada, and had afterward trans- 
 ferred all their "right, title, and interest" to 
 SjDain. 
 
 By glancing at a map of North America, 
 our readers will see that the Spanish claim, 
 running from the Gulf of Mexico north, crossed 
 at right angles that of our people, running 
 from the Atlantic Ocean west. As the rights of 
 the two parties in this case were equally good, 
 or rather equally bad, of course the disputed 
 territory would ultimately belong to those who 
 should first actually occupy and settle it. 
 Hence it became the settled policy of the Span- 
 ish authorities in Louisiana to prevent or ob- 
 struct, by all possible means, the w^estward 
 progress of the settlements in Tennessee, Ken- 
 tucky, etc. 
 
 Farther, the inhabitants of the country be- 
 tween the Alleghanies and the Mississippi had 
 
152 OLD times; or, 
 
 no other means of getting their surplus produce 
 to a foreign market but to take it in boats down 
 that river to the Gulf of Mexico. The Span- 
 iards, owning the land on both sides of the 
 river at New Orleans, insisted that the river 
 also belonged to them, and that no one could 
 use it but by their permission, and upon such 
 terms as they chose to exact. On this ground 
 they required every boat descending the stream, 
 to pay a tax or toll, such as they thought 
 proper, from time to time, to demand. 
 
 Our young readers will probably be thinking 
 that the Government of the United States 
 should at once have put an end to this unrea- 
 sonable and oppressive demand of Spain. Well, 
 there was no want of attention to the subject 
 on the part of Congress and the President. 
 They argued, and negotiated, and remonstrated 
 abundantly, but could not induce Spain to sur- 
 render her pretensions. But why not go to war, 
 and whip her into compliance? Simply because 
 we were not able to do it. If Spain and the 
 United States had been then what they are 
 now^, such a proceeding would have been quite 
 practicable, and employed with little hesi- 
 tation. 
 
 But the Spanish monarchy was, at that time, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 153 
 
 among the most powerful in Europe — strong in 
 men, money, and all the resources of war. On 
 the other hand, the United States were just out 
 of an exhausting war of eight years w'ith Great 
 Britain ; without an army or a navy, and des- 
 titute of the means of raising either. While 
 able and ready to defend themselves at home 
 against foreign invasion, the Government and 
 people of the United States had not the re- 
 sources to equip and maintain an army that 
 could conquer and hold Kew Orlep^ns against 
 the power of Spain. In these circumstances, it 
 was enough that they did not give up the right 
 to navigate the Mississippi, and only waited for 
 time to strengthen their hands sufficiently for a 
 forcible assertion of their just claims. 
 
 If the Spanish idea of preventing the Ameri- 
 can settlements from extending to the Missis- 
 sippi seems ridiculous at this day, it was not so 
 sixty or seventy years ago. Besides having 
 command of the Mississippi River, their mili- 
 tary and trading posts along that stream and 
 in Florida gave them great influence with the 
 Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks. 
 These last were a povvTrful and warlike tribe, 
 v;ho occupied the extensive region between the 
 Cherokees and the Gulf of ISlcxico. The Choc- 
 
154 OLD times; or, 
 
 taws were located in the southern portion of 
 what is now the State of Mississippi. As these 
 two tribes interfered not at all, or very little, 
 with the early settlements in East Tennessee, 
 we have omitted to notice them before. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 155 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY EXPLORATIONS IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. 
 
 It was in the year 1769 — the same in which 
 the Watauga settlement was commenced — that 
 the first party of white hunters visited the 
 region now called Middle Tennessee. The 
 company consisted of twenty men, some of them 
 from North Carolina, others from Western 
 Virginia. As most of them finally settled in 
 the country, and became distinguished for their 
 courage and conduct in defending the young col- 
 ony against the Indians, we will here give a list 
 of some of their names. They were John Rains, 
 Kasper Mansco, Abraham Bledsoe, John Baker, 
 Joseph Drake, Obadiah Terrill, Uriah Stone, 
 Harry Smith, Ned Cowan, Robert Crockett. 
 
 This party came to Middle Tennessee by first 
 takinsr a north-west course into the southern 
 part of Kentucky, crossing the Cumberland 
 Mountains at a place since known as Cumber- 
 land Gap, near the present State line between 
 
156 OLD times; or, 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee. By then turning to 
 the south-west, they reached Middle Tennessee 
 in that part now occupied by Sumner and tlie 
 adjoining counties. Here they dispersed, after 
 having appointed a place where they were all 
 to meet, and to which they were to bring the 
 proceeds of their hunting and trapping. The 
 only one of the company who did not return to 
 the camp was. Robert Crockett, whose body was 
 found on the great war-path of the Cherokees, 
 which led to the Pawnee country. He had 
 evidently been killed by some of the former 
 tribe, and was the first white man murdered by 
 Indians in Middle Tennessee. 
 
 This party came to the country in the sum- 
 mer, and returned home next spring, thus 
 spending nine months without bread, and prob- 
 ably with a very scanty supply of salt. The 
 account which they gave of the country, among 
 their friends and neighbors in the Atlantic 
 States, was such as to start another similar 
 expedition the next year — 1770. Colonel James 
 Knox may be regarded as the leader in this 
 adventure, and he, with some others of the 
 company, followed the course of the Cumber- 
 land River to its mouth. In that day, these 
 men were known as the " Long Hunters," from 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 157 
 
 the extent of country which they traversed. 
 They carried back with them a more extensive 
 and accurate knowledge of Middle Tennessee 
 than had been obtained by any previous ex- 
 plorers. 
 
 For several years after this, Middle Tennes- 
 see — or as it was then called, the Cumberland 
 country — continued to be visited by adventurous 
 hunters. Some Frenchmen, before the year 
 1779, had come up the Cumberland from the 
 Ohio, and established a trading post at the 
 " Bluff," as the place where the capital of Ten- 
 nessee now stands was then called. In 1778, 
 several men, amongst them Spencer and Holli- 
 day, came from Kentucky, built some cabins, 
 and planted a small field of corn near Bledsoe's 
 Lick. Holliday being about to return to Ken- 
 tucky, Spencer determined to remain by him- 
 self As Holliday had lost his knife, Spencer 
 broke his own blade in two, and at parting, gave 
 his companion half of it, with which to skin 
 and cut his venison on the journey. 
 
 This Spencer made his home, during his soli- 
 tary abode in the country, in a large hollow 
 tree, near Bledsoe's Lick. He was a very large 
 man, and, from the following story, would 
 appear to have had a foot at least in proportion 
 
158 OLD times; or, 
 
 to his body. There was another hunter staying 
 not far from him, but neither of them knew 
 that there was any other white man but himself 
 in that whole region. Upon some of his ram- 
 bles, Spencer happened to pass not far from the 
 hunter's camp, and left the tracks of his huge 
 feet in the soft, deep soil. Upon seeing them a 
 few days after, the man concluded that there 
 must be giants thereabouts, and, in great alarm, 
 made tracks of his own toward the nearest 
 white settlement. 
 
 The first permanent white settlement in Mid- 
 dle Tennessee was made by a colony from Wa- 
 tauga, in 1779. This party was under the 
 guidance of Captain James Robertson, the 
 same man that had already done so much for 
 the promotion of the Watauga settlement. He 
 was accompanied by George Freeland, William 
 Neely, Edward Swanson, James Hanly, Mark 
 Robertson, Zachariah White, and James Over- 
 hall. They built cabins, and planted some 
 corn, on the ground which the city of Nashville 
 now covers. During the summer they were 
 joined by several other parties of emigrants. 
 When they had done working their corn, most 
 of them returned for their families, leaving a 
 few men to keep the buffaloes out of the field. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 159 
 
 The site of the present city of Nashville 
 passed, iu those early times, under several dif- 
 ferent names. It was sometimes called "The 
 Bluff," and sometimes "French Lick," or 
 "French Salt Springs." The last two names 
 were- given to it on account of a bold spring 
 that sends up salt-sulphur water in the northern 
 part of the city. This spring was first visited by 
 French traders, and was much resorted to by 
 buffaloes and other wild animals to lick the salty 
 earth around it. Bledsoe's Lick, Mansco's 
 Lick, and many others, took their names in the 
 same way. In the neighborhood of these licks 
 was the best place to find plenty of large game. 
 And throughout the country generally, every 
 settler who did not live near a natural lick, 
 made an artificial one by scooping out a hollow 
 in a log, and therein depositing a little salt, to 
 entice the deer. From a "blind" near these 
 "lick-logs" a deer could be shot almost at any 
 time. 
 
160 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM EAST TENNESSEE TO THE FRENCH LICK 
 BY WATER. 
 
 In the same year that James Robertson and 
 his companions planted corn at The Bluff, a 
 considerable party left East Tennessee, intend- 
 ing to reach the same place by water. Of this 
 party were several women, among them the wife 
 of Captain Robertson, and Mrs. Peyton, whose 
 husband had gone by land with Robertson. 
 The trip was gotten up by Colonel John Don- 
 aldson, and managed chiefly under his direction. 
 The fleet — consisting of several boats, canoes, 
 and other river craft — started on the 22d of 
 December, 1779, from Fort Patrick Henry, on 
 the upper Holston. The voyage was com- 
 menced in the midst of a remarkably cold 
 winter, and, on account of the ice in the river, 
 and various accidents, the party did not get 
 farther than the mouth of Clinch by the 1st 
 of March. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 161 
 
 Colonel Donaldson kept, a journal of this 
 expedition, ^vhicli you may find printed in 
 Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee. It is too long 
 to be copied here, and we must content our- 
 selves ^Yith noticing only a feAV of the most 
 interesting incidents of this hardy and perilous 
 adventure. And while we do so, let our readers 
 turn to their maps and mark the situation of 
 the places mentioned, otherwise they will have 
 but a confused notion of what we are relating. 
 Geography is one of the eyes of history, and 
 you must always look at a map, if you would 
 understand clearly the situation of places 
 spoken of in books. 
 
 In this progress down the Holston, you will 
 see that the emigrants passed first the mouth 
 of French Broad, then those of Little River 
 and Little Tennessee, all on the left hand. 
 Then comes in Clinch River on the right, and 
 Hiwassee on the left. The next is the mouth 
 of Chickamauga, on the left side, just below 
 Avhich are the dangerous Narrows, described in 
 the first Book. After leaving Chickamauga, 
 where they saw no Indians, the hindmost boat, 
 containing Mr. Stewart, his family, and others, 
 to the number of twenty-eight persons, was at- 
 tacked by the savages, and every one on board 
 
162 OLD times; or, 
 
 was either killed or made prisoner. Mr. Stew- 
 art's family had the small-pox, and, to prevent 
 the rest of the party from catching the disease, 
 they stayed so far behind that their friends in 
 the other boats could give them no assistance 
 in their terrible calamity. 
 
 The remaining boats kept as near the middle 
 of the stream as they could, to be as far as pos- 
 sible from the Indians, who frequently fired 
 upon them from the high banks on each side. 
 Right in the most dangerous part of The Nar- 
 rows, the boat of Mr. Jennings stuck fast on a 
 rock, just under Avater, and where the current 
 was so rapid that the other boats could not stop 
 to help get it oif. The Indians soon discovered 
 their situation, and began to fire at the persons 
 in the boat. The only chance now was to throw 
 out every thing in the boat, and so lighten it, 
 that it might be shoved from the rock. Mr. 
 Jennings used his rifle as well as he could, 
 W'hile.Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Peyton, and a negro 
 woman, in the midst of a constant shower of 
 bullets from the Indians on the bank, succeeded 
 . at length in getting the boat so lightened as to 
 float off* the rock. 
 
 Upon this occasion, Colonel Donaldson re- 
 lates the only instance of cowardice which we 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 163 
 
 meet with in all the history of the frontiers. 
 Two young men, one of them the son of Mr. 
 Jennings, and a negro, left their companions in 
 the midst of the danger, and betook themselves 
 to flight. It is not known what became of them. 
 The three women had their clothes pierced by 
 a score of bullets, but nobody was wounded; 
 though an infant of Mrs. Peyton, twenty-four 
 hours old, was somehow killed in the confusion. 
 With the loss of all they had, but the boat and 
 their lives, in about two days they overtook 
 the other boats, and, with frontier generosity, 
 were admitted to share the provisions and 
 clothes of their fellows-travelers. 
 
 After leaving the dangerous neighborhood 
 of the Chickamauga^, the navigation was tole- 
 rably smooth and safe to the " Muscle Shoals," 
 in the present State of Alabama. At the head 
 of these shoals Elk Kiver empties into the Ten- 
 nessee, on the right hand. The passage over 
 the shoals was rough and difficult, but the boats 
 kll got through without any serious damage. 
 After leaving the shoals, they were once or 
 twice fired at by Indians on the shore, but 
 at too great a distance to do much harm. The 
 channel of the river becoming wide and the 
 water deep, they arrived without farther diffi- 
 
164 OLD times; or, 
 
 culty at the mouth of the Tennessee, and landed 
 on the spot where is now the town of Paducah, 
 in Kentucky. This was on the 15th of March, 
 nearly three months from their embarkation 
 on the Holston. 
 
 At this point some of the boats parted com- 
 pany with Colonel Donaldson, and went down 
 the Ohio, bound for Illinois and Natchez. The 
 remainder had a toilsome task, in rowing against 
 the rapid current of the Ohio to the mouth 
 of the Cumberland, Avhich they reached on the 
 24th of March. The river appeared smaller 
 than they expected to find it, and when they 
 determined to ascend it, it was with some doubt 
 whether it was the Cumberland or some other 
 stream. On the 31st, however, all their doubts 
 were agreeably removed, by meeting with 
 Colonel Richard Henderson, who was then 
 employed in running the line between North 
 Carolina and Virginia. 
 
 Having left Colonel Henderson, who gave 
 them full information of the route they were to 
 pursue, the party, now in good spirits, though 
 worn down by the fatigues of a long and ardu- 
 ous voyage, continued to ascend the river. 
 They were now at liberty to refresh themselves 
 by landing occasionally, and shooting buffalo 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 165 
 
 and other game, without any danger from lurk- 
 ing Indians. Proceeding in this way, they 
 arrived at The Bluff on the 24th of April, 
 when Mrs. Robertson and Mrs. Peyton were 
 safely delivered to their expecting and anxious 
 husbands, and the whole party welcomed to 
 such hospitality as frontier cabins could afford. 
 
166 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FARTHER ACCOUNT OF THE COLONY AT THE 
 BLUFF. 
 
 It was stated in the last chapter, that the 
 winter of 1779-80 was excessively cold. Cum- 
 berland River was frozen over for a good while, 
 so that people crossed it on foot as easily as 
 they now do on the wire bridge at Nashville. 
 The few cattle and hogs belonging to the Bluff 
 settlement mostly died from the severity of the 
 weather and the want of suitable food. Even 
 the wild animals — the deer, buffalo, and bear — 
 amidst the deep snows and hard freezes of that 
 winter, became so wretchedly poor that they 
 were scarcely fit to be eaten. To add to the 
 distress of the population, a good part of the 
 little crop of corn, raised in the preceding sum- 
 mer, was carried off by a freshet. 
 
 The party that came by water, as related in 
 the preceding chapter, did not all remain at 
 The Bluff, but built their cabins at several 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 167 
 
 points, not very distant. Colonel Donaldson 
 himself settled near the mouth of Stone's River, 
 a few miles above The Bluff, at the place now 
 known as "Clover Bottom." It should have 
 been mentioned before that Mr. Renfroe and 
 some others stopped on their way, at Red River, 
 near the present town of Clarksville. In re- 
 spect to provisions, these separate settlements 
 fared neither better nor worse than the main 
 one at the Lick. In their privations, they 
 might all console themselves with thinking 
 that, if bread was scarce, the meat was lean 
 enough to be eaten without any. 
 
 But if the severity of the season had caused 
 the new a,nd feeble colony to suffer in one par- 
 ticular, it had doubtless been beneficial in 
 another. It probably kept the hunting and 
 war parties of the Cherokees at home, and 
 saved the settlers from an attack before they 
 had time to erect stations for defense. The 
 Cumberland settlement was nearer to the Cher- 
 okees, at least to the very hostile tribe of 
 the Chickamaugas, than the colonies in East 
 Tennessee. The settlers were also more ex- 
 posed to the ChickasaAvs, if that nation should 
 prove unfriendly ; and the northern tribes had 
 the advantage of coming to The Bluff by water. 
 
108 
 
 To the daring men who had planted them- 
 selves on the banks of the Cumberland, it was 
 evident enough that their only earthly depend- 
 ence for safety and life was upon themselves. 
 Their nearest white neighbors w^ere in Ken- 
 tucky, and in a condition too much like their 
 own, to be able to render assistance, in case of 
 need. They w^ere separated by a rough wilder- 
 ness of three hundred miles from the older col- 
 onies of Watauga and Nolichucky. North 
 Carolina and Virginia were struggling through 
 the darkest period of the Revolutionary AYar, 
 and could spare neither a man nor a musket 
 for the defense of a distant frontier. 
 
 It was stated in the former Book of this his- 
 tory, that when the first white men settled in 
 Tennessee, there were no Indians living there, 
 except some Cherokees in the south-eastern 
 part. When Robertson's colony took up their 
 abode on the Cumberland, there was no sign to 
 be seen showing that the country had ever been 
 cultivated or even cleared. It is true that, for 
 some distance around .the French Lick, there 
 were no bushes, and scarcely any trees growing ; 
 but this was no doubt because the growth had 
 been kept down by the browsing and tramping 
 of the buffaloes and other large animals that 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 169 
 
 resorted, in immense numbers, to the lick. 
 There was no appearance, in all Middle Ten- 
 nessee, of such clearings as the Indians were 
 accustomed to have around their toAvns or per- 
 manent dwelling-places. 
 
 Yet there was proof on all hands that the 
 country had once been inhabited — by whom, or 
 how long before, the Indians could not tell. 
 Near to all the finest springs, and in other 
 places, generally on the rivers and creeks, there 
 were, and are yet to be seen, large numbers of 
 graves, containing human bones. When the 
 first of the present race of white men were 
 buried in Tennessee, it is probable there were 
 more graves here than would serve for all the 
 white persons that have lived and died here 
 since; and yet nobody, now^ living in the world, 
 has any more knoAvledge of the people who 
 made and who filled these graves than if they 
 had ncA^er existed. • 
 
 But, besides the graves, there are other things 
 to prove that Tennessee, and indeed all the 
 Mississippi Valley, was once occupied by a race 
 of men that has disappeared from the face of 
 the earth. There are stone vralls, now under 
 ground, that the Indians had not skill enough 
 to build. These walls, as well as the graves. 
 
170 OLD times; or, 
 
 have trees of the greatest age growing above 
 them, and, for any thing that we know, many 
 generations of such trees may have flourished 
 and rotted on the same spot. In numberless 
 places in Tennessee, the plow-boy, every year, 
 throws up bones that may have belonged to 
 men who died before Pompey the Great — it 
 may be, before the Deluge. 
 
TliNNESSEE HISTORY. 171 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 
 
 It was not long that the young community 
 at The Bluff, and the still feebler stations 
 around it, were permitted by the Indians to 
 improve their new homes in peace and security. 
 Instigated by the British officers and agents, 
 and impelled by their own love of war and 
 plunder, all the tribes, north and south, com- 
 bined, in the spring of 1780, to attack the 
 frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia, North 
 Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The 
 most advanced, and therefore the most exposed, 
 of all this long border, was the colony at The 
 Bluff. It could be easily approached from 
 north, south, east, and west, without the in- 
 vaders being required to pass through or near 
 any other settlement of white men. 
 
 The spring weather, which relieved, in some 
 degree, the sufferings inflicted by the preceding 
 hard winter, brought the Indians at the same 
 
172 OLD times; or, 
 
 time with the rattle-snakes. Small parties from 
 various tribes were lurking continually in the 
 neighborhood, watching every opportunity to 
 commit robbery and murder. If the women 
 went out to milk the cows, they were frequently 
 shot down in sight of the station. The men 
 could not bring in a stick of wood for fuel, but 
 at the great risk of their lives. Every hunter 
 that ventured to kill a deer or a turkey, ex- 
 pected to fight his way back into the fort, if 
 he was so fortunate as to return at all. If some 
 were employed in clearing and fencing a patch 
 for corn, as many more had to keep watch, rifle 
 in hand, against the creeping savage. 
 
 The barbarous murders, committed almost 
 every day, do not furnish very entertaining 
 subjects for our young readers; but we shall 
 fail to give any thing like a true history of the 
 times, unless we mention some of them. Two 
 men, named Keywood and Milliken, were at- 
 tacked on Richland Creek, and the latter killed. 
 Joseph Hay was killed on the Lick Branch, 
 and old Mr. Bernard, at Denton's Lick, had his 
 head cut off and carried away. Another man, 
 named Milliken, was killed and his head cut 
 off", in the same neighborhood. In July, Jona- 
 than Jennings was killed at an island just above 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 173 
 
 The Bluff. Higher up the river, the Indians 
 killed Ned Carver and Isaac Neely, and made 
 a prisoner of Neely's daughter. A little later, 
 they shot James Mayfield, near Eaton's Station, 
 on the north side of the Cumberland. Shortly 
 after, at the same place, they killed Jacob 
 Stump, and pursued Frederick Stump into the 
 station. 
 
 In the fall of this year, four men — Balestine, 
 Shockley, Goin, and Kennedy — were killed 
 at Mansco's Lick; and Mansco's Station was 
 abandoned. Some of those who had stayed in 
 it, went to the station at The Bluff, and others 
 to the Kentucky settlements. After this, as 
 Spencer was returning from a hunt, with several 
 horses loaded with meat, he was fired at by the 
 Indians, but not hurt. However, to save his 
 own life, he was compelled to leave his horses 
 in their hands. The same band stole other 
 horses at Station Camp Creek, and then at- 
 tacked Asher's Station, where they killed and 
 scalped two men, and got some more horses. 
 On their route they were met and attacked by 
 Alexander Buchanan and other hunters, one or 
 two of the Indians were killed, and all the 
 horses recovered. 
 
 The little settlement on Red River was not 
 
174 OLD times; or, 
 
 more fortunate than the others. The attack on 
 this place was made by Choctaws and Chicka- 
 saws. First and last they killed between fifteen 
 and twenty persons in this settlement, and car- 
 ried off all the horses and other property they 
 could find. The few who survived the slaugh- 
 ter left Eed River, and sought protection at 
 The BlufiT. In the course of the same year, 
 Freeland's Station, south of The Bluff, was 
 assaulted, and one man killed. Buchanan, 
 Robertson, and others, pursued these Indians to 
 Duck River, without being able to overtake 
 them. About the same time, Philip Catron, 
 riding from Freeland's Station to The Bluff*, 
 was shot and badly wounded, but made his way 
 to the fort and recovered. 
 
 In the fall of the year, a party of Cherokees 
 stole some horses from The Bluff*. About fifteen 
 men pursued them, and found them camped 
 on the south side of Harpeth. They attacked 
 the camp at night, drove off* the Indians, and 
 retook the horses. Colonel Donaldson, having 
 taken two boats and a party of men to bring 
 down the corn he had made at Clover Bottom, 
 was returning with the boats loaded. The 
 Colonel having left his boat for a short time, 
 those on the water were fired upon, and all 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 175 
 
 killed or wounded, except one white man and a 
 free negro, who swam to land, and made their 
 way to The Bluff. One of the killed was John 
 Eobertson, son of Captain James Robertson. 
 One of the boats floated down the stream, and 
 was found the next day, passing by The Bluff 
 with a dead man in it. The wounded men were 
 made prisoners by the Indians, but Colonel 
 Donaldson escaped to Mansco's Station. 
 
 In the course of the summer, the buffalo, 
 bear, and deer became fat again, and, in defi- 
 ance of the Indians, there was no want of meat 
 among the settlers at The Bluff. Twenty men 
 went to hunt on Caney Fork, and brought down 
 their meat in canoes. During the hunt they 
 killed one hundred and five bears, seventy-five 
 buffalo, and eighty deer. But bread was still 
 wanting, and some of the settlers became dis- 
 couraged by the privations and calamities to 
 which they were daily exposed, without any 
 prospect of speedy relief. A good many of 
 them went off to Kentucky and Illinois ; those 
 that remained, moved in from the outer stations 
 to Freeland's and The Bluff. In this way the 
 little Cumberland colony passed the hard year 
 1780. 
 
176 OLD times; ok, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 INDIAN HOSTILITIES CONTINUED. 
 
 The year 1781 brought with it no cessation 
 or abatement of the Indian war upon the white 
 settlements in Middle Tennessee. In the dead 
 of winter, a party of Cherokees made an at- 
 tempt in the night to get possession of the 
 block-house at Freeland's Station. They found 
 means silently to loosen the chain that held 
 the gate, and were inside the stockade before 
 any alarm was given. Captain Robertson, who 
 was staying there all night, was the first to dis- 
 cover the danger, and the other inmates of the 
 station were soon aroused. In the fight which 
 ensued. Major Lucas and a negro belonging to 
 Robertson were killed ; and one of the savages 
 fell by the rifle of Captain Robertson. The 
 Indians, finding that they did not catch the 
 people in the station off their guard, soon left the 
 premises and vanished in the surrounding cane. 
 
 The settlers having before this all gone into 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 177 
 
 Freeland's Station and The Bluff, the Indians 
 now employed themselves in burning the de- 
 serted cabins, and the fences around the little 
 corn-fields, and in destroying whatever valuable 
 things they could not take off with them. At 
 the same time they lost no opportunity to kill 
 and scalp every man, woman, and child they 
 could safely attack. A Mrs. Dunham having 
 sent her little daughter out of the fort for some- 
 thing, the savages seized q^id scalped the child, 
 but did not kill her. The mother hearing her 
 cries, rushed out to save her, and Avas severely 
 wounded by a rifle-ball. Both mother and 
 daughter got back into the fort, and lived many 
 years after. 
 
 In the early spring, a large number of Cher- 
 okee warriors joined the party that had infested 
 the settlement during the winter, and the In- 
 dians felt themselves strong enough to storm 
 the Bluff Fort. The attack was well planned, 
 and but for a fortunate accident, might have 
 succeeded. The Indians were divided into two 
 parties, one of which lay in the cane along the 
 branch that empties into the river just south of 
 Broad street. The others hid themselves in the 
 cedars along the ground where the Franklin 
 Turnpike enters the cit}'. Early in the morn- 
 
178 OLD times; or, 
 
 ing, the party at the branch sent forward three 
 warriors, who fired at the fort, and immediately 
 retreated. Nineteen-men from the fort mounted 
 their horses and pursued them to the branch, 
 where they were fired upon by those lying in 
 ambush w-ith fatal effect. 
 
 The men from the fort at once dismounted, 
 and returned the fire of the Indians. While the 
 contest about the branch was at the hottest, the 
 other body of the enemy rushed out from their 
 concealment, and formed themselves in a line 
 between the fort and the men who had left it. 
 Five or six of the nineteen Avere already dead, 
 and as many more badly w^ounded ; and there 
 w^as no way for the remainder to reach the fort 
 but by passing through the line of fresh war- 
 riors. At this critical moment, the horses that 
 had been abandoned at the beginning of the 
 fight, became frightened, and rushed by the 
 fort toward the Lick Branch. The rascally 
 Cherokees could not resist the temptation to 
 steal horse-flesh, and many of them left their 
 places in the line and ran off in pursuit. This 
 left an open space, through which the brave 
 remnant of the nineteen might retreat into the 
 fort. 
 
 The dogs belonging to the fort were also of sig- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 179 
 
 nal service upon this occasion. Being trained to 
 hate Indians, when they heard the yells of the 
 savages, they ran toward the branch and made a 
 furious attack upon the Indians in the unbroken 
 part of the line. While they were employed in 
 defending themselves against the teeth of their 
 four-footed assailants, the retreating Avhite men 
 could more safely pass them into the shelter 
 of the block -house. The warriors, finding 
 that their plan had failed, desisted from any 
 farther attempt during that day. At night, 
 however, another body, who had not been in 
 the battle, fired upon the fort, but were fright- 
 ened off by the discharge of a small cannon, 
 loaded with stones and pieces of pot-metal in- 
 stead of balls. 
 
 In the retreat, Isaac Lucas had his thigh 
 broken by a ball, and of course could go no 
 farther. As he lay upon the ground, an Indian 
 ran toward him to take his scalp. Disabled as 
 he w^as, Lucas managed to bring his rifle to 
 bear upon him, fired, and the Indian fell dead. 
 Lucas was taken safely into the fort. Edward 
 Swanson was also pursued by a single Indian, 
 who put his gun against his body and snapped 
 it. Upon this, Swanson seized the muzzle and 
 twisted the gun round so as to throw the 
 
180 OLD times; or, 
 
 priming out of the pan. Seeing this, the Indian 
 clubbed his gun, and knocked Swanson down. 
 At this instant, John Buchanan stepped from 
 the fort, shot and wounded the Indian, and thus 
 saved the life of his friend Swanson. 
 
 After the battle, only two dead Indians could 
 be found ; but as they got nineteen horses, with 
 all their equipments, it is likely they carried off 
 the dead and Avounded bodies of a good many 
 more. A remarkable incident may be men- 
 tioned here, though it happened some time after 
 this. David Hood was shot down, scalped, and 
 trampled on by the Indians, near the French 
 Lick. After they had left him for dead, Hood 
 got uj), and made his w^ay, as well as he could, 
 toward The Bluff. To his dismay, he came 
 upon the same Indians again, wdio killed him 
 again, as they thought, and left his body on 
 the snow. Some men from the fort made a 
 search next day, found the body, and laid it in 
 an out-house as dead. Strange as it is, he re- 
 vived, and lived many years afterward. 
 
 It was probably about this time that the in- 
 mates of a block-house on White's Creek, about 
 ten miles north of Nashville, would seem to 
 have been utterly destroyed. Some years after, 
 a family by the name of Webber, settling in 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 181 
 
 that neighborhood, discovered the house still 
 standing, and hundreds of bullets buried in the 
 logs. When the ground around it was put into 
 cultivation, bullets were turned up by the plow 
 for many years. The settlers at The Bluff 
 knew nothing of the house, or of those who 
 built it. The supposition is that they were 
 a party of emigrants who had taken refuge 
 there, and of whom not one was left to tell the 
 story of their destruction. 
 
182 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DESPAIR OF THE SETTLERS — ROBERTSON's 
 INFLUENCE. 
 
 During the next two years, the Cumberland 
 colony was unceasingly harassed by Indian 
 depredations, similar to those described in the 
 last two chapters. The details there given will 
 suffice to show the character of these hostilities, 
 and the degree of suffering which they were 
 calculated to inflict. The years 1782 and 1783 
 abound with material for a volume of such 
 narratives, but it can serve no good purpose to 
 insert them here. In a state of things where 
 people had to be constantly guarded in fetching 
 water from the spring, and where, when two or 
 more men stopped to talk, they turned their 
 backs to each other for the better chance of 
 seeing an Indian crawling through the cane, it 
 is not necessary to dwell upon the horrid par- 
 ticulars of massacre, in order to present a pic- 
 ture of the universal distress. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 183 
 
 At length, so gloomy and nearly desperate 
 had become the condition of the Cumberland 
 settlement, that the inhabitants held a council 
 at The Bluff, in which it was proposed to quit 
 the country entirely, and betake themselves in 
 a body to some other of the more fortunate 
 parts of the frontier. James Robertson, almost 
 alone, opposed the proposition. He argued, 
 remonstrated, and exerted all his great personal 
 influence to prevent such a step. He shoAved 
 that they would be more exposed to Indian 
 attacks, in any attempt to reach the settlements 
 in East Tennessee or Kentucky, than they were 
 even at The Bluff. To go to the Illinois vrould 
 require boats, and they could not go into the 
 woods to get timber to make them without 
 almost certain destruction. In a word, he 
 proved that, bad as their condition was at The 
 Bluff, they would only make matters worse by 
 attempting to leave it. 
 
 In 1783 came the end of the Revolutionary 
 War, and peace w^as proclaimed between Great 
 Britain and the United States. As it had 
 been the policy of Great Britain, during that 
 war, to encourage and assist the Indians in their 
 warfiire against the western border, so now that 
 the war had ceased, the people on the frontier 
 
184 OLD times; oh, 
 
 had grounds to hope that the hostility of the 
 tribes would cease with it. And, to some ex- 
 tent, this was doubtless the result; but, in this 
 time, other motives had begun to urge the sav- 
 age warriors to plunder and massacre. The 
 passion of revenge, and the policy of checking 
 the advancing settlements, before they should 
 occupy their favorite hunting-grounds, conspired 
 to place the red and the white men at continual 
 enmity. 
 
 To add to these standing causes of jealousy 
 and hatred on the part of the Indians, the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of North Carolina, in this year, 
 passed an act fixing the boundary of the 
 Chickasaw and Cherokee hunting-grounds, and 
 greatly' reducing their limits. This was done 
 simply by authority of the State, and without 
 any treaty or talk with the head-men of those 
 tribes. 
 
 This act plainly shows that the members 
 of that assembly did not understand the proper 
 course to be taken with Indians. If a treaty 
 had been held, the same territory might have 
 been acquired for a very trifling expense, 
 and the Indians would have thought that they 
 were fairly dealt by. As it was, they saw in 
 this act a determination not to ask their con- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 185 
 
 sent in disposing of these lands, and they re- 
 sented it accordingly. 
 
 In the second chapter of this Book, some 
 account is given of the North American pos- 
 sessions of Spain. About this time, (1784,) 
 there was good reason to think that the Spanish 
 authorities of Louisiana were secretly stirring 
 up the southern Indians against our western 
 frontier. There was no war between the United 
 States and the Government of Spain, but the 
 rival claims of the two nations in the Missis- 
 sippi Valley, were understood to furnish a 
 motive for this unjustifiable tampering with the 
 savages. In their intercourse with the Indians, 
 the Spanish officials usually employed French 
 traders, who had been longer in the country, 
 and were better acquainted with Indian char- 
 acter, than the Spaniards. These traders were 
 Frenchmen who had remained in the country 
 after Louisiana had been ceded by France to 
 Spain, and many of them had Indian wives 
 and families of half-breed children. 
 
 Under the impression, which the state of 
 things was calculated to produce, James Rob- 
 ertson, now holding the commission of Colonel, 
 addressed a letti?, in 1784, to the Spanish 
 authorities in Louisiana, upon the subject of 
 
186 OLD times; or, 
 
 Indian hostilities. The letter was, as it should 
 have been, polite in tone, and guarded in its 
 language. The answer received was all that 
 could have been expected or desired, as far as 
 words would go. But for any effect it was ever 
 known to have on the conduct of the Indians, 
 this correspondence amounted to nothing more 
 than a courtly ceremonial. The marauding 
 expeditions of the savages were as frequent and 
 destructive after it as they had been before. 
 
 In defiance of all hinderances, the colony on 
 the Cumberland continued gradually to improve, 
 and was occasionally strengthened by the incom- 
 ing of fresh parties of emigrants. Nothing wor- 
 thy of special notice occurred in the year 1785. 
 The usual amount of Indian murders and rob- 
 beries we deem it useless to mention. But in 
 1786, commissioners, appointed by Congress, 
 made a treaty with the chiefs of the Chickasaw 
 Nation, settling the boundary line between them 
 and the whites. It was believed that this treaty 
 would have a good effect in securing the peace 
 and friendship of that tribe, and, in a short 
 time after, a great many came to Middle Ten- 
 nessee, from the old States, who had been kept 
 away only by their dread oiS^tndians. • 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 187 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 EXPEDITION TO COLDWATER. 
 
 The General Assembly of North Carolina 
 had provided for the raising of a battalion of 
 mounted troops, to be commanded by Major 
 Evans, for the defense of the Cumberland fron- 
 tier. But the business proceeded slowly, ^not- 
 withstanding the earnest representations of 
 Colonel Bledsoe and Colonel Robertson upon 
 the subject. At length it was resolved to make 
 an expedition into the Indian country, with 
 what forces could be raised in Cumberland, 
 without waiting for farther authority or assist- 
 ance from the State. The experience of the 
 East Tennessee settlements had proved that the 
 most effectual way to check Indian aggressions, 
 was to attack the savages at home. With this 
 view, a hundred and thirty men were embodied, 
 from all the Cumberland settlements, for an 
 invasion of the Cherokees. This body was 
 commanded by Colonel Robertson, and, under 
 
188 OLD times; or, 
 
 him, Colonel Robert Hays and Colonel James 
 Ford. 
 
 In the month of June, 1787, the troops started 
 for the Cherokee town on Coldwater Creek, 
 that empties into the Tennessee on the southern 
 side, just below the Muscle Shoals, and near 
 the present town of Tuscumbia, in Alabama. 
 They had along two Chickasaw^s as guides, and, 
 without any accident, reached the Tennessee, at 
 the foot of the shoals. By the help of a boat 
 belonging to the Indians, which they found 
 here, they crossed the river in the night, and 
 halted on the other side, to prepare for farther 
 movements. They then entered a beaten path 
 that led off from the river, and, after riding 
 several miles, came to Coldwater Creek, and the 
 Cherokee village on the opposite side, and about 
 three hundred yards from the Tennessee River. 
 
 Colonel Robertson, wdth most of the troops, 
 crossed the creek, and rode right into the town. 
 The Indians, surprised and frightened, ran 
 down the ^vestern bank of the stream, hotly 
 pursued by the horsemen. Captain Rains, who 
 wdth several others had been left on the eastern 
 side of the creek, ran down also toward the 
 river, and met the Indians as they hurried 
 across to escape their pursuers on the w^estern 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 189 
 
 side. Rains's party delivered a deadly fire that 
 brought down three of the warriors on the spot, 
 and wounded others. The Cherokees then took 
 to their boats, lying in tlie mouth of the creek, 
 and paddled out into the river, where they were 
 repeatedly fired upon by the white men from- 
 the bank. Many of the Indians jumped from 
 the boats into the water, and were shot while 
 swimming, like so many otters. 
 
 In this affair twenty or thirty savages were 
 slain, mostly Creek warriors, and, at the same 
 time, three French traders and a white woman, 
 who had got into a boat, in company with the 
 Indians, and refused to surrender. The French- 
 men and the white woman Vvcre buried by the 
 troops, the town burned, and all the domestic 
 animals destroyed. Their duty having been 
 faithfully discharged, the two Chickasaw guides 
 were presented each with a horse, a gun, 
 blankets, etc., and sent away to their own 
 people. Five or six French traders were made 
 prisoners, and possession taken of all their 
 goods on hand, consisting of sugar, coffee, 
 blankets, powder, lead, knives, tomahawks, and 
 other articles suited to the Indian market. The 
 troops then prepared to return to The Bluff. 
 
 The French prisoners, and the goods taken 
 
190 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 from them, were put into several boats, under 
 the charge of Jonathan Denton, Benjamin 
 Drake, and John and Moses Eskridge. These 
 were directed to descend the river, Avhile the 
 mounted men rode down on the south side to 
 ■ some convenient place for crossing. After being 
 lost for a time in the pine woods, these latter 
 came to the river, where they found the boats, 
 and crossed over at a place where the banks 
 were favorable on both sides. At the encamp- 
 ment on the north side of the river, the pris- 
 oners were put into a canoe, with some sugar, 
 coffee, and other provisions, and were allowed 
 to go up the stream. The boats, with the cap- 
 tured goods on board, were directed to proceed 
 down the Tennessee to its mouth, then up the 
 Ohio and Cumberland home. The troops struck 
 across the country, and arrived at The Bluff, 
 without having a single man killed or wounded 
 in the expedition. 
 
 While the boats were on their way, another 
 piece of good fortune befell the party. Several 
 boats loaded with goods, belonging to some 
 other French traders, who were on board, were 
 met coming up the river. The Frenchmen, 
 thinking that our people were countrymen of 
 theirs returning from the Cherokee towns, fired 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 191 
 
 off their guns by way of salute. The Ameri- 
 cans came alongside, with their guns charged, 
 and easily made prisoners of the deluded 
 Frenchmen. They and their cargo of goods 
 were taken up Cumberland, nearly to The 
 Bluff. There the prisoners received a canoe, 
 with permission to go down the stream, as far 
 as might please them, leaving their goods, 
 wares, and merchandise behind. 
 
 Some of these traders, it is likely, were acting 
 under the instructions of the Spanish Govern- 
 ment, and exciting the Cherokees to hostilities 
 against our western frontier. Others of them 
 were, however, probably innocent of such de- 
 signs, and only traded with the Indians with a 
 view to the profit to be made thereby. Still 
 these latter, as well as the more guilty ones, 
 deserved to lose their goods, and to suffer what- 
 ever rough treatment they met with besides. 
 They knew very well that the powder, and lead, 
 and tomahawks, which they furnished the In- 
 dians, would, whether they desired it or not, in 
 all likelihood, be used for warlike purposes 
 against the whites. Such articles are, accord- ^ 
 ing to the law of nations, contraband, and self- 
 preservation justified the colonists in preventing 
 the trade, and punishing the traders 
 
192 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MEASURES OF DEFENSE AGAINST THE INDIANS. 
 
 The impression made upon the Creeks and 
 Cherokees, by the energetic measures related in 
 the preceding chapter, did not prove to be of 
 long continuance. Small bodies of them were, 
 soon after, prowling among the weaker settle- 
 ments, and occasionally murdering individuals 
 and unprotected families. Among the victims 
 of their cruelty about this time, was Colonel 
 Anthony Bledsoe, a man much beloved and 
 confided in by the people of the West, and 
 who had rendered signal service to the new 
 settlements, both in East Tennessee and on the 
 Cumberland. In the pursuit of one of these 
 marauding bands, an Indian boy was captured, 
 the son of a Creek warrior, and afterward 
 exchanged for a son of Mr. Naine, that had 
 been carried off by the Creeks some time before. 
 
 The troops ordered by North Carolina, for 
 the protection of the Cumberland colony, came 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 193 
 
 in small companies, each one usually guarding 
 a party of emigrants through the dangers of the 
 wilderness. When arrived, the soldiers were 
 placed at the different stations throughout the 
 country, and added much to the security of the 
 inhabitants. Colonel Robertson also organized 
 companies of patrols, or rangers, whose business 
 it was to keep in motion along the most ex^^osed 
 parts of the frontier, and be constantly on the 
 watch for Indian enemies. One of these com- 
 panies, under command of Captain Rains, be- 
 came distinguished for the skill with which it 
 could detect Indian signs, and for the courage 
 and perseverance with which it pursued and 
 attacked the skulking foe. 
 
 These defensive measures, and the greater 
 safety of the settlements arising therefrom, 
 caused the population of Cumberland to in- 
 crease quite rapidly in the year 1788. Still, 
 Indian hostilities w^ere not entirely suppressed, 
 and danger was to be constantly apprehended 
 from the unfriendly disposition of the Creeks 
 and Cherokees. It was generally believed that 
 these Indians were acting under the influence 
 of the Spanish officials in Louisiana and Flor- 
 ida. To obtain farther information upon this 
 point, Colonel Robertson addressed a letter, in 
 7 
 
194 OLD times; or, 
 
 very smooth and friendly terms, to McGille- 
 vray, the head-chief of the Creek Nation, ask- 
 ing what causes of complaint his nation had 
 against our people, and promising, if any 
 wrong had been done them, that it should be 
 redressed. 
 
 This letter was taken to the chief by Mr. 
 Ewing and Mr. Hoggat, who brought back an 
 answer of quite a moderate and friendly tone. 
 McGillevray said, in substance, that, during 
 the War of the Kevolution, his people had been 
 the friends and allies of Great Britain, and had 
 made war accordingly. After peace was made, 
 he said, the Creeks had no hostile feelings 
 against the wdiite settlers, until some of their 
 warriors had been killed at Coldwater. They 
 had now been sufficiently revenged for this 
 affair, and he would endeavor to prevent them 
 from any farther hostilities against the people 
 of Cumberland. Such were the sentiments 
 which the great chief thought proper to express 
 upon paper, but they had no eftect upon the 
 behavior of the Creeks, who continued their 
 depredations as before. 
 
 Colonel Robertson was as shrewd and pru- 
 dent as he was energetic and upright. On the 
 3d of August, 1788, he wrote again to McGille- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 195 
 
 vray, expressing great satisfaction with the 
 reply of that chief to his former letter. He 
 proceeded farther to inform him, that, from 
 feelings of high regard toward McGillevray, a 
 lot in the new town of Nashville, on the Cumber- 
 land, had been presented to him, and the deed 
 recorded in his name. He even w^ent so far as 
 to ask him if he would accept the gift of a rich 
 tract of land in Middle Tennessee. In conclu- 
 sion, he intimated that, if the people of the 
 western settlements should be kindly treated by 
 the Spaniards, they might be induced to break 
 off all connection wdth the Atlantic States, and 
 put themselves under the protection of the 
 Spanish Government. 
 
 Properly to understand these proceedings of 
 Colonel Robertson, the reader should look again 
 into the second chapter of this Book. In order 
 to extend and strengthen their own dominion 
 in North America, the first policy of the Span- 
 iards was to cut off our western setttlements by 
 the agency of the Indian tribes along the fron- 
 tier. When this should fail, their next object 
 was to induce the people west of the mountains 
 to attach themselves to the Spanish province 
 of Louisiana, for the sake of having peace with 
 the Indians, and the free navigation of the 
 
196 OLD times; or, 
 
 Mississippi. By encouragiDg them in this no- 
 tion, Kobertson expected to secure their influence 
 with the Indians in favor of the Cumberland 
 colony, and he was sure that McGillevray would 
 communicate to the Spanish authorities -svhat 
 he had said in his letter. 
 
 But was there any thought among the west- 
 ern people of joining themselves to the Spanish 
 provinces? Perhaps there was, with a few, and 
 at a later period the feeling became both 
 stronger and more extensive. Under all the 
 circumstances, such an inclination would not 
 be unnatural, nor altogether without excuse. 
 It was essential to the prosperity of the Ten- 
 nessee colonies that they should be protected 
 against the Indians, and have the free use of 
 the Mississippi Biver ; and both North Carolina 
 and the Federal Government had so far failed 
 to obtain for them either of these advantages. 
 However, Colonel Bobertson's immediate object 
 was only to secure peace to the frontiers, until 
 the settlements should become strong enough 
 to protect themselves. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 197 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 So far we have been occupied exclusively 
 witli the relations between the Cumberland 
 settlers and the Indians, and the efforts of the 
 new community to protect itself against external 
 enemies. It is now time that we should look a 
 little at its internal regulations, and the means 
 employed to preserve order and enforce justice 
 among the inhabitants. For this purpose we 
 must return to the year 1780, when the colony 
 was first planted. And here the special thing 
 to be remarked is, that although the territory 
 was within the acknowledged limits of North 
 Carolina, yet for several years that State had 
 as little concern with the government of Cum- 
 berland as did the State of Massachusetts. 
 
 From Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, to 
 Kaleigh, now the seat of government of North 
 Carolina, is a distance of six hundred miles, 
 and in 1780, more than half of it was an un- 
 
198 OLD times; or, 
 
 broken wilderness. Besides, the parent State 
 was too entirely absorbed in the War of the 
 Eevolution, to allow her attention to be directed 
 to the concerns of a little cluster of cabins, on 
 the bank of the Cumberland. James Robert- 
 son's colony was therefore left, in its own way, 
 to govern itself at home, as well as to protect 
 itself against enemies abroad. The people at 
 The Bluif had to do for themselves all that is 
 now done for us by the combined agency of the 
 State and Federal Governments. 
 
 As the pioneer settlers at The Bluff were, 
 some of them, the same men, and all of the same 
 character, as those who planted and cherished 
 the community at Watauga, so they naturally 
 undertook to build up a society at the former, 
 by the same methods which had succeeded so 
 well at the latter place. They elected persons 
 as trustees, and, by a written agreement called 
 a covenant, agreed to refer all differences and 
 disputes to their decision. By this simple plan, 
 and by taking care that the trustees should be 
 men of sense and integrity, justice was admin- 
 istered, and the rights of all secured. Every 
 signer of the covenant was entitled to a tract 
 of land, which was secured to him by the public 
 faith of the whole colony. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 199 
 
 These trustees were not only in the place 
 of judges anc^i juries, but they also exercised 
 the right of performing the ceremony of mar- 
 riage. Colonel Robertson, who was one of 
 them, married the first couple in INIiddle Ten- 
 nessee — Captain Leiper and his wife. Another 
 trustee — Mr. Shav/ — married four couples in 
 one day — Edward Swanson to Mrs. Carvin, 
 James Freeland to Mrs. Maxwell, Cornelius 
 Riddle to Miss Jane Mulherrin, and John 
 Tucker to Miss Jenny Herod. These marriages 
 could not be strictly lawful; but people who 
 wished to be married, could not reasonably be 
 expected to wait for preachers to come amongst 
 them, or for a slow State like North Carolina to 
 appoint justices of the peace in the Cumberland 
 colony. These trustees, for the various services 
 rendered by them, received neither a salary nor 
 fees, though the clerk employed by them was 
 allowed enough to pay for pen, ink, and paper. 
 
 In 1782, when the Cumberland settlement 
 had begun to attract some attention in North 
 Carolina, the General Assembly passed a pre- 
 emption law, giving to each family in the colony 
 six hundred and forty acres of land, and the 
 same quantity to every single man who had 
 settled there before the 1st of June, 1780. 
 
200 OLD times; or, 
 
 Another law was passed, making a liberal 
 allowance in lands, called homul^, to the North 
 Carolina soldiers engaged in the Revolutionary 
 War. Provision was made for these bounty- 
 lands to be taken in Middle Tennessee. The 
 same General Assembly also bestowed on Gen- 
 eral Nathanael Greene, of the Continental 
 Army, twenty -five thousand acres of land, 
 which were afterward laid off for him on Duck 
 River. 
 
 In 1783, the North Carolina Assembly laid 
 off the county of Davidson, the first in what is 
 now Middle Tennessee. It was so named after 
 General William Davidson, a native of Meck- 
 lenburg county, N. C, a brave man and a 
 meritorious officer, who was killed by the To- 
 ries, at the Catawba River, in 1781. At the 
 same session also, the Assembly established a 
 town at The Bluff, to be called Nashville. This 
 name was intended to commemorate the char- 
 acter and services of Colonel Francis Nash, 
 another son of the "Old North State," who fell, 
 bravely doing his duty, at the battle of Ger- 
 man town. For a good Avhile the place was 
 often called and spelled Nashhorough, in place 
 of the true name. 
 
 Absalom Tatum, Isaac Shelbv, and Anthony 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 201 
 
 Bledsoe were appointed commissioners to lay 
 off the preemption and bounty-lands in Middle 
 Tennessee. This was the last public employ- 
 ment of Colonel Shelby, as a citizen of North 
 Carolina. He shortly after removed to Ken- 
 tucky, where he continued to exhibit the same 
 noble traits of character which had endeared 
 him to the people of Watauga and Cumber- 
 land. He became the first governor of Ken- 
 tucky, and was elected again in 1812. At the 
 latter period, he commanded the Kentucky 
 troops, under General Harrison, on the Canada 
 frontier. He died, full of years and honors, 
 in 1826. 
 
202 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 On the 6th of October, 1783, was held the 
 first county court, in the new county of David- 
 son. Of this body Isaac Bledsoe was chairman, 
 and Andrew Ewing, clerk. Among other or- 
 ders made at this term, was one for building a 
 court-house and a jail, the former to be eighteen, 
 and the latter fourteen feet square, of hewed 
 logs. Headon Wells was authorized to build a 
 "water grist-mill" on Thomas's Creek — the first 
 erection of the kind in Middle Tennessee. At 
 the same time an order was made for opening 
 a road from Nashville to Mansco's Station, 
 which had been previously laid out by a com- 
 mittee of the trustees. 
 
 In 1785, the General Assembly of North 
 Carolina passed an act establishing Davidson 
 Academy, which has since grown into the Uni- 
 versity of Tennessee, at Nashville. For the 
 support of the institution, the Assembly granted 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 203 
 
 certain lands, that were to be tax-free for 
 ninety-nine years. And in this place, as well 
 as elsewhere, the remark may be made that, in 
 all the measures adopted by North Carolina for 
 the protection or advancement of her western 
 settlements, not one dollar was ever taken from 
 the general treasury of the State. Every thing, 
 even troops to guard them against Indians, was 
 to be paid for by w^estern lands, or by taxes on 
 western persons and property, kept separate 
 from the general State treasury. This policy 
 may not have been unjust, but surely it does 
 not look quite generous. 
 
 At the same session of the Assembly, an act 
 Avas passed, directing a wagon-road to be opened 
 from the lower end of Clinch Mountain, in East 
 Tennessee, to Nashville. Up to this time, emi- 
 grants going to The Bluff had followed the old 
 hunter's trace, through the southern part of 
 Kentucky. This road was intended to open a 
 shorter route, across the Cumberland Mountain. 
 This so-called mountain is only a high table- 
 land, well suited to both agriculture and pas- 
 turage, but which, at the time we speak of, had 
 hardly been visited by a white man, and was 
 not much resorted to by Indian hunters. 
 Though lying directly between AYatauga and 
 
204 OLD times; or, 
 
 The Bluff, the travel between those places had 
 taken a roundabout way to the north of it. 
 
 During the same year, 1785, the Assembly 
 of North Carolina, of w^hich Colonel Robertson 
 was a member, passed a law that three hundred 
 men should be embodied, and kept constantly 
 in service, for the defense of the Cumberland 
 settlements. At any time, when their military 
 services were not needed against the Indians, 
 these troops were to be employed in opening 
 the road across Cumberland Mountain, which 
 had been directed in a previous act. The law 
 farther provided that the men composing the 
 militia force should be paid in land, at the rate 
 of eight hundred acres to each for a year's ser- 
 vice. These lands w^ere to be laid off west of 
 Cumberland Mountain, according to the uni- 
 form policy of the State, to make the western 
 settlements pay their own expenses. 
 
 At the same session of the Legislature of 
 North Carolina, Davidson county was divided, 
 and a new county organized, and called Sum- 
 ner. It was so named in honor of General 
 Jethro Sumner, who had served in the North 
 Carolina line of the Continental Army through- 
 out the whole of the Revolutienary War. The 
 first session of the county court of Sumner was 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 205 
 
 held in April, 1787, at a private house — that 
 is, at the log-cabin of John Hamilton. David 
 Shelby was appointed clerk, and John Harden, 
 Jr., sheriff. Clerks and sheriffs were, in that 
 day, appointed by the courts, and not elected 
 by the people, as they are, at this time, in Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 At the session of the General Assembly of 
 North Carolina, held at Tarborough, in the 
 year 1787, James Kobertson and David Hays 
 were present as members froiji Davidson 
 county. It was probably at their instance 
 that the Legislature made farther provision for 
 completing the road across Cumberland Moun- 
 tain. For this purpose the Cumberland militia 
 were divided into classes, which were called out 
 in rotation to work on the road. In November, 
 1788, Colonel Eobertson gave notice, in the 
 "State Gazette of North Carolina," that the 
 road was opened all the way, and that, at stated 
 times,, a guard would berin readiness, at Camp- 
 bell's Station, to attend upon parties of emi- 
 grants through the wilderness. This guard 
 was continued for several years, and added 
 greatly to the security of travelers. 
 
 The members from Davidson also presented 
 to the Assembly a written statement regarding 
 
206 OLD times; or, 
 
 the condition of the settlements in Middle Ten- 
 nessee. In that document it is stated that 
 thirty-three of the inhabitants had been mur- 
 dered by Indians during that year. The hard- 
 ships and sufferings, already endured by the 
 colonists, are strongly set forth, and the dan- 
 gers to be dreaded for the future are pointed 
 out. Among other things, the evil influence 
 exercised by the Spaniards of Louisiana upon 
 the Creeks, Cherokees, and Chickasaws, is men- 
 tioned as a heavy grievance, and the claim of 
 that nation to the exclusive use of the Missis- 
 sippi is made a subject of indignant complaint. 
 The memorial concludes with a broad hint to 
 North Carolina, that, if it is too burdensome 
 for her to defend and cherish her western set- 
 tlements, the inhabitants would prefer to be 
 handed over to the guardianship of the Federal 
 Government. 
 
TENNESSEE HIST(5ll?. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 INCREASE OF POPULATION — CURRENCY OP 
 CUMBERLAND. 
 
 About this time, and for several succeeding 
 years, the population of the Cumberland colony 
 rapidly increased. Sufficient land, as rich as 
 any in the world, had now been put into culti- 
 vation to produce an abunelance of corn for 
 bread, and for feeding hogs and other stock. 
 The road lately made across the mountain 
 region enabled families from East Tennessee, 
 and from the old States, to bring with them 
 much of their household goods, and the means 
 of more comfortable living; and the guard of 
 fifty riflemen secured them against Indian dep- 
 redations on the way. The small community 
 at The Bluff had now so much expanded, par- 
 ticularly down the Cumberland, that it became 
 necessary again to divide Davidson county, 
 and to organize a third, which took the name 
 of Tennessee. 
 
208 OLD times; oe, 
 
 In 1789, the three counties were laid off into 
 a judicial district, and a judge appointed to 
 hold courts therein. John McNairy was the 
 first circuit judge in Middle Tennessee. It is 
 rather singular that the district was called 
 Mero, after the name of the Spanish Governor 
 of Louisiana. Our readers will remember 
 Colonel Robertson's letter to McGillevray, as 
 mentioned in the tenth chapter. Well, either 
 on account of the hint then given, or because 
 he was naturally a mild and kindly man, this 
 Governor Mero had behaved in a very friendly 
 manner toward the Cumberland boatmen and 
 other traders who had visited the Spanish 
 settlements. Perhaps this naming of the dis- 
 trict was another piece of management, on 
 the part of Colonel Robertson, to flatter the 
 Sjoanish official into^ a continuance of good 
 behavior. 
 
 Our readers, perhaps, had a laugh over 
 the account, given in the first Book, of the 
 currency of the State of Franklin. But as 
 far as a circulating medium, or a substitute 
 for money, is concerned, the people of Frank- 
 lin were at least as well off as their brothers, 
 the backwoodsmen of Cumberland. The 
 records of the county court of Davidson 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOKY. 209 
 
 show, in a very satisfactory m?.nner, what 
 was the commercial condition of its inhab- 
 itants in the year 1787. The business be- 
 fore the court was to supply the ways and 
 means of supporting the battalion of mounted 
 troops, under command of Major Evans. If 
 such a thing had now to be done, the court 
 would at once levy a tax to be paid, in gold or 
 silver, or good bank-bills, to the sheriff, and by 
 him to the county treasury. 
 
 But in 1787, it was managed differently. 
 The court then ordered that one-fourth of each 
 man's tax be paid in corn, two-fourths in beef, 
 pork, bear-meat, or venison, one-eighth in salt, 
 and one-eighth in money. These articles were 
 to be delivered at a particular place in each 
 captain's company, and then conveyed to the 
 troops. It was to answer the expense of this 
 last transportation that the one-eighth in money 
 was required. For these articles the following 
 prices w^ere to be allowed : for corn, four shil- 
 lings per bushel ; beef, five dollars per hundred ; 
 pork, eight dollars; good bear-meat, without 
 bones, eight dollars ; venison, ten shillings per 
 hundred; salt, sixteen dollars per bushel. The 
 reader will notice that venison was then much 
 cheaper than beef or pork, and that salt, 
 
210 OLD times; or, 
 
 at that time, cost about forty times its present 
 price. 
 
 As we took occasion to remark, when speak- 
 ing of the revenue of Franklin, the want of 
 money is not always a sign of poverty. A good 
 and plentiful circulating medium is certainly a 
 great convenience, and essential to the business 
 of a commercial people ; but the inhabitants of 
 Cumberland had so little commerce that their 
 transactions could be pretty well managed 
 without money. In this respect, indeed, they 
 were very little behind the people of the Atlan- 
 tic States. Men of considerable property had 
 begun to seek homes in the western settlements, 
 but they brought little gold or silver with them, 
 for the plain reason that there was very little 
 in the places from which they came. A war 
 of eight years, w^hich had completely prevented 
 all foreign trade, had left the whole country 
 nearly destitute of money. 
 
 As the settlers in Middle Tennessee were cit- 
 izens of North Carolina, and subject to its laws, 
 so they w^ere entitled to be paid out of the State 
 treasury, for services rendered to the public. 
 Those who had been wounded and disabled, and 
 the families of those who had been killed in the 
 Indian wars, had a fair claim to be provided 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 211 
 
 for by the State. Those who had furnished 
 horses, arms, or provisions for the army, were 
 entitled to compensation, as also those whose 
 property had been destroyed or carried off by 
 the public enemy. For all such claims, a law 
 of North Carolina provided that certificates 
 should be issued to the claimant, which should 
 be received as money in the payment of taxes. 
 These certificates could be passed from one to 
 another, among the people, and to some extent 
 answered the purpose of the bank-notes now in 
 use. 
 
 The great scarcity of money among the Cum- 
 berland people was caused, not so much by 
 having nothing to sell, as by the want of a 
 market. The white communities nearest to 
 them were those of Kentucky and East Ten- 
 nessee, and in them the inhabitants had a 
 surplus of every thing that those of Middle 
 Tennessee wanted to sell. The only chance for 
 the latter to get even a little money for their 
 produce, was to take it in flat-boats down the 
 Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi, to the 
 Spanish towns of Natchez and New Orleans. 
 Then, after paying a tax — sometimes a very 
 heavy one — for the privilege, they could sell, 
 generally for a very low price, and then return 
 
212 OLD TIMES ; OR, 
 
 on foot, through the Choctaw and Chickasaw 
 Nations of Indians, a distance of about twelve 
 liundred miles from New Orleans to Nashville. 
 - Full of hardship and danger as it was, this trip 
 had now begun to be frequently undertaken. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DISASTROUS ATTEMPT TO REACH NASHVILLE 
 BY WATER. 
 
 In the fourth chapter, we gave an account 
 of the passage of the party under Colonel Don- 
 aldson down the Tennessee, and up the Ohio 
 and Cumberland, to The Bluff. That expedi- 
 tion proved successful, though the party suf- 
 fered some heavy misfortunes on the way. We 
 are now to relate another undertaking of the 
 same kind, which ended not only in failure, 
 but in the death or captivity of every person 
 engaged in it. Colonel James Brown was an 
 officer in the North Carolina line of the Conti- 
 ^nental Army. After the close of the war, he 
 resolved to settle in Middle Tennessee, where 
 he owned valuable lands, granted to him by 
 the State for his military services. 
 
 Colonel Brown assembled his party on the 
 Holston, and there made all due preparations 
 to descend the stream. He built a large boat, 
 
214 OLD times; or, 
 
 the sides of which were fenced up with thick 
 plank, to protect those in it from rifle or musket- 
 balls, if they should be fired at by Indians. In 
 the stern, or hind part of the boat, was placed 
 a small cannon. Colonel Brown's family con- 
 sisted of himself, his wife, two grown sons, and 
 three younger ones, four small daughtei'S, and 
 several negroes. In addition to these, he took 
 along also five young men — J. Bays, John 
 Flood, John Gentry, William Gentry, and John 
 Griffin. This whole party embarked, and com- 
 menced their voyage down Holston, in May, 
 1788. 
 
 They proceeded without any accident till 
 they arrived at the Chickamauga towns, where 
 several of the Cherokees came on board, and 
 appeared to be very friendly. But as soon as 
 they returned to land, they sent runners to give 
 notice to the warriors in the towns below that a 
 boat was on the river, and that they should 
 collect all the canoes they could to meet and, 
 attack the party. The river at this time was 
 high, and the back-water was in the bottoms. 
 Brown's boat had not proceeded many miles, 
 before it was met by four canoes, containing 
 about forty Indian warriors. They hoisted a 
 white flag as a token of peace, and pretended 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 215 
 
 that they only wanted to trade with the white 
 men. Though suspicious of their bad designs, 
 Colonel Brown stopped his boat, and suffered 
 them to come on board. 
 
 These Indians were no sooner in the boat, 
 than they began to make very free with what- 
 ever it contained; and while they were em- 
 ployed in rudely rummaging among the goods, 
 seven or eight other canoes were seen suddenly 
 coming out from the back-water amongst the 
 cane. The boat Avas in a moment surrounded by 
 them, and the whites were at the mercy of the 
 treacherous and bloody savages. Colonel Brown 
 was the first victim, whose head was nearly cut 
 in two with a sword, and his body thrown over- 
 board. Every man of the party was soon 
 butchered, including, of course. Colonel Brown's 
 two grown sons. As the Indians had every 
 thing in their power, they preferred not to kill 
 the women and children, but to make them 
 captives and slaves. 
 
 Amongst the band of Indians that committed 
 this outrage, w^ere some Creek warriors, who 
 took Mrs. Brown, her son ten years old, and 
 three little daughters, in their share of the 
 spoils. Two of the daughters were brought 
 back by the Cherokees, and remained among 
 
216 OLD times; or, 
 
 them, while the mother, her son George, and 
 the other daughter continued to be the prisoners 
 and slaves of the Creeks, whose towns were on 
 the Tallapoosa Kiver. Another son, Joseph, 
 belonged to a Cherokee warrior. Mrs. Brown 
 and the daughter with her w^ere purchased by 
 McGillevray, the head-chief of the Greeks, and 
 restored to her friends about a year afterward. 
 The chief generously refused all compensation 
 for this act of humanity. George Brown re- 
 mained in captivity about five years, but was 
 then released, and restored to his friends. 
 
 The unprovoked and atrocious slaughter of 
 Colonel Brown's party, with the many other 
 similar outrages, from time to time committed 
 by the lawless savages of The Narrows, at 
 length aroused General Sevier and his ever- 
 ready volunteers to attack them in their homes 
 and strongholds. "Nolichucky Jack," as Se- 
 vier was familiarly called by his men, soon 
 brought these Cherokees into a humor to seek 
 peace upon the best terms they could get. 
 Among other things, it w^as required of the 
 Indians to surrender all the white prisoners in 
 their hands; and upon this occasion, Joseph 
 Brown and his two sisters regained their liberty. 
 
 With this chapter will end the separate his- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 217 
 
 tory of tlie Cumberland colony. The short 
 interval of time between the present date and 
 February, 1790, when North Carolina ceded all 
 her western territory to the United States, fur- 
 nishes no incidents beyond the usual items of 
 savage warfare. There have passed ten years 
 since James Robertson and his companions 
 planted themselves at the French Salt Lick, 
 and twice that time since Bean set up his house- 
 hold gods upon the banks of the Watauga. 
 We have traced the progress of the two settle- 
 ments, until a safe and easy communication has 
 been established between them. Henceforth 
 we are to consider them as blended into one 
 community, and to pursue their farther history 
 under the name of the "Territory South-west 
 of the River Ohio." 
 
BOOK III 
 
 UKITED STATES TERKITOKY 
 
 AND 
 
 STATE OF TENNESSEE. 
 
OLD TIMES; 
 
 OR, 
 
 TENNESSEE HISTORY 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW THE TERRITOPvY WAS GOVERNED. 
 
 The "Articles of Confederation," which held 
 the States together during, and for some years 
 after, the Revolutionary "War, had been laid 
 aside, and the present "Constitution of the 
 United States" adopted, and was about to go 
 into operation. According to that constitution, 
 the Territory was to be regulated and managed 
 by the Federal Government — that is, by the 
 President and Congress. General Washington 
 was then President, and it became his duty to 
 appoint a governor and two judges for the Ter- 
 ritory. The appointment of governor was be- 
 
 (221) 
 
222 OLD times; oe, 
 
 stowed upon William Blount, of North Caro- 
 lina, and David Campbell and Joseph Anderson 
 Avere made judges. 
 
 Mr. Blount Avas a gentleman of wealth and 
 education, had been a delegate from North 
 Carolina to the convention that framed the 
 Constitution of the United States, and acted as 
 commissioner from that State among the Indian 
 tribes. He received his commission as Governor 
 of the Territory in August, 1790, and in Octo- 
 ber arrived in the neighborhood of Watauga 
 to enter upon the duties of his office. One of 
 these duties was to appoint the civil and mili- 
 tary officers of the Territory. In most eases, 
 he appointed the same men who had held the 
 several offices under the Government of North 
 Carolina, only giving them a new commission, 
 under the authority of the United States. 
 
 Governor Blount, having appointed the offi- 
 cers of Washington District, which included all 
 the counties in East Tennessee, proceeded to 
 Nashville, to arrange the affiiirs of Mero Dis- 
 trict, composed of the three counties on the 
 Cumberland — Davidson, Sumner, and Tennes- 
 see. Not having authority himself to appoint 
 brigadier-generals, he recommended to the 
 President to give these offices respectively to 
 
 Jf 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 223 
 
 John Sevier for AVashington, and James Kob- 
 ertson for Mero, and they were commissioned 
 accordingly. Having thus set the Territorial 
 Government in motion, Governor Blount fixed 
 his official residence at Knoxville, on the Hol- 
 ston, which soon became the most important 
 place in East Tennessee, though at that time 
 only the site of a few cabins and rough clear- 
 ings. It took its name from General Henry 
 Knox, t]^en Secretary of War under President 
 Washington. 
 
 In addition to his other powers and duties. 
 Governor Blount was also the agent of the 
 United States among the Southern Indians, 
 namel}^ the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, 
 and Choctaws. In this department he acted 
 under the direction of the Secretary of War, 
 who seems not to have understood so well how 
 to manage the savages as Sevier or Eobertson 
 did. His instructions to Governor Blount re- 
 quired that officer, and the people of the settle- 
 ments, to act only on the defensive toward the 
 hostile Indians. An army was not, upon any 
 account, to be marched into the Indian country. 
 The Secretary was doubtless a man of excellent 
 sense, and a good military officer, but neither 
 he, nor even General Washington, had ever 
 
224 OLD times; or, 
 
 had any experience of Indian warfare, in a 
 country covered with canebrakes, where a hun- 
 dred warriors could lie concealed for weeks 
 within a hundred yards of a station. 
 
 The business of regulating the intercourse 
 between the white and the red men, Governor 
 Blount found to be exceedingly troublesome. 
 Being bound to carry out the instructions of 
 the Secretary of War, he was compelled to wit- 
 ness much suffering, and to hear loud c^mjolaint 
 among the people under his charge. In Mero 
 District ' the population was now about seven 
 thousand, furnishing one thousand fighting 
 men; and in AVashington there were perhaps 
 four times as many. The two brigadiers — Se- 
 vier and Eobertson — felt themselves able to 
 beat any force the Indians could array against 
 them, whenever they could bring them to a 
 battle. But this the savages would generally 
 avoid, and preferred to hide in small parties 
 about the settlements, robbing and murdering 
 at every safe opportunity. 
 
 When depredations were committed, pursuit 
 would immediately be made, but with very 
 little prospect of finding the offenders, who 
 could easily disperse and hide in the cane, or 
 make their way across the Indian line, where 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 225 
 
 the troops were not permitted to follow them. 
 In such a state of things, it is not strange if 
 the fiery spirit of the western soldiers some- 
 times broke out into acts of impatience, which 
 defied control. The authority of the Federal 
 Goverment, and the proclamations of Governor 
 Blount, were alike disregarded, in some in- 
 stances, when the law of self-preservation and 
 the instinct of vengeance w^ere too powerful for 
 the law of the land. At length the Federal 
 authorities themselves became convinced that 
 they had mistaken the true policy to be pursued 
 toward the Indian enemies of the Territory, 
 and the western people were again permitted to 
 defend themselves by carrying war into the 
 Indian country. 
 
 President Washington was then earnestly en- 
 gaged in endeavoring to make a treaty wdth 
 Spain, which might secure for us the free navi- 
 gation of the Mississippi, and put a stop to the 
 evil influence which the Spanish authorities in 
 America were exercising over the Southern In- 
 dians to our prejudice. On the other hand, the 
 Spanish Government w^as aiming to convince the 
 people west of the AUeghanies, that the only 
 means of obtaining peace with the Indians, and 
 a foreign market for their produce, was to sepa- 
 8 
 
226 OLD times; or, 
 
 rate from the Atlantic vStates, and to attach them- 
 selves to Louisiana. Washington was desirous to 
 preserve peace with Spain, and all other foreign 
 nations, until our country should grow into a 
 degree of strength that would enable us, if 
 necessary, to assert our rights by force of arms. 
 His policy was no doubt patriotic as it was 
 prudent, but it did sometimes happen that, 
 under the sting of present grievances, the mur- 
 murs of the western pioneers were heard even 
 against the "Father of his country." 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 227 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 INDIAN AFFAIES. 
 
 Aftek the present Constitution of the United 
 States had been adopted, the President and the 
 Senate could alone make treaties with the In- 
 dian tribes. Before that time, some had been 
 made under the authority of North Carolina, 
 some by the State of Franklin, and others 
 by individuals, as has been before mentioned. 
 None but those made by North Carolina were 
 of any force, but yet many of the inhabitants 
 of the South-west Territory were actually living 
 on lands acquired by these unauthorized trea- 
 ties. For the sake of peace with the Indians, 
 who v^■ere often complaining of these encroach- 
 ments, the President issued his proclamation, 
 warning all persons to remove from the lands 
 which the Indians had not surrendered by some 
 lawful treaty. 
 
 As the Indians paid no attention to their own 
 agreements, but made war upon those outside 
 
228 OLD times; or, 
 
 as well as witliin the lines claimed by tliem, the 
 settlers thought proper to treat the President's 
 proclamation with very little regard. Indeed, 
 it may be presumed that nothing more was in- 
 tended by the Government of the United States 
 than to conciliate the Indians, by appearing to 
 be very anxious to treat them with justice — at 
 least, no force was ever employed to remove the 
 settlers, and they did not leave. They and the 
 Government knew very well that Indian hos- 
 tilities would be the same, with or without the 
 observance of treaties on the part of the whites. 
 Nothing but their dread of the white man's rifle 
 could be relied on to insure their peaceful be- 
 havior. 
 
 But still, where there had been no sort of 
 treaty, by which the Indians ceded theii' terri- 
 ritory, nor any actual settlements made, the 
 policy of the Government to keep all intruders 
 off" the Indian lands was duly enforced. The 
 State of Georgia then owned the territory which 
 is now the State of Alabama, but the Cherokees 
 had never agreed to give it up to the whites — 
 in other words, the Indian title had not been 
 extinguished. About this time, the Legislature 
 of that State granted to a private company a 
 large tract bordering on the Muscle Shoals of 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 229 
 
 the Tennessee. The company attempted to 
 settle their grant, but were ordered off by 
 Governor Blount, as the agent of the General 
 Government, and the Cherokees were told at 
 the same time that they might drive them away, 
 without giving offense to the United States. 
 
 In the hope of putting some restraint upon 
 the Cherokees, who were constantly committing 
 outrages upon the frontier. Governor Blount 
 thought it expedient to invite the chiefs and 
 warriors to meet him in a conference, or talk, to 
 be held on the ground where Knoxville now 
 stands, in June, 1791. Accordingly forty-one 
 chiefs, and about a thousand other Cherokees, 
 attended at the time and place appointed, where 
 they found Governor Blount, surrounded by 
 the principal civil and military officers of the 
 Territory. The Governor made his proposals, 
 and the Indian orators their speeches, and a 
 treaty was formed, fixing the boundary line of 
 the Indian hunting-grounds, and many other 
 matters. As in all other cases, the treaty was 
 first violated by the Cherokees, and then nulli- 
 fied by the whites. 
 
 At this time the Government of the United 
 States had determined to send an army, under 
 General St. Clair, to chastise the Indians of the 
 
230 OLD times; or, 
 
 North-west. In order to raise a sufficient force, 
 "Washington District was called upon to furnish 
 three hundred and thirty-two men. For the 
 first, and so far, for the last time, Tennesseans 
 refused to volunteer. The term of service was 
 longer than they had been used to, and besides, 
 they were to be commanded by officers not of 
 their own choosing, which had never happened 
 before. Another reason may be that they were 
 just then a good deal dissatisfied with the Fed- 
 eral Government, for what they regarded as its 
 neglect to promote the interests of the western 
 peoj)le. A draft, or forced enlistment, was re- 
 sorted to, and at length two hundred men, by 
 the great exertions of Governor Blount and 
 General Sevier, were sent forward in time to 
 share the disastrous defeat of General St. Clair, 
 on the 4th of November, 1791. 
 
 A singular incident occurred as the troops 
 were about leaving upon this expedition. One 
 of the captains — Jacob Tipton — had taken 
 leave of his family, and mounted his horse. 
 He then halted and called out his wife to tell 
 her that, if he should be killed, she must change 
 the name of their son William, and call him 
 Jacob. He seemed to have a presentiment that 
 he should fall, as he did, in the battle that en- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 231 
 
 sued. The name of his son was changed agree- 
 ably to his request, and he afterward became 
 General Jacob Tipton, of Tipton county, in 
 West Tennessee. The county was so named in 
 honor of his father, the brave and patriotic 
 captain. 
 
 At the very time the treaty with the Chero- 
 kees w^as being held at Knoxville, the usual 
 Indian robberies and murders were going for- 
 ward. A Mr. Miller and five of his family 
 were killed, and his house robbed, on the Koll- 
 ing Fork of the Cumberland. On the frontier 
 of Virginia, Mrs. McDowell and Frances Pen- 
 dleton were murdered and scalped. Shortly 
 after the treaty, James Patrick was killed near 
 Kogersville. Whether these depredations were 
 committed by Creeks or Cherokees is uncertain ; 
 but any w^ay, these and many similar instances 
 plainly show that treaties had no binding force 
 with the Indians, ifnd brought no assurance of 
 safety to the white settlements. For some rea- 
 sons, it was perhaps well enough to go through 
 the ceremony of holding councils with them, 
 but then it was proper to keep as sharp a look- 
 out as if nothing of the kind had been trans- 
 acted. 
 
232 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 INDIAN MURDERS AND ROBBERIES. 
 
 There was perhaps no time, in the history 
 of the Tennessee settlements, in which the 
 hostility of the savages was more constant, 
 determined, and bloody, than during the year 
 succeeding the council at Knoxville, spoken of 
 in the last chapter. The Cherokees and Creeks 
 had, by this time, found out that the white men 
 were not allowed by the Government to pursue 
 them into their own country, or to attack their 
 towns. This they regarded as a license to their 
 marauding parties to do all the mischief they 
 could in the settlements, if they could only 
 cross the line before the pursuers should over- 
 take them. In regard to their relations with 
 the Indians, the inhabitants of Washington and 
 Mero were in a worse condition than the early 
 settlers at AVatauga and The Bluft*; for North 
 Carolina, if she did nothing for their protection, 
 at least allowed them to protect themselves. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 233 
 
 Governor Blount and Generals Sevier and 
 Eobertson did all they could, under the circum- 
 stances. Troops were kept at the stations in 
 tlie more exposed neighborhoods, and patrols, 
 or rangers, were in motion along the frontier. 
 Still this did not prevent small bands of the 
 enemy from stealing into the settlements and 
 committing an immense amount of slaughter 
 and devastation. We shall select a few cases, 
 leaving the great mass of suffering to be imag- 
 ined by our readers. On the 26th of June, the 
 Indians attacked Zeigler's Station, near Bled- 
 soe's Lick, killed four men, and made eighteen 
 prisoners. Nine of these captives were after- 
 ward redeemed by their friends. The remain- 
 der, as also a young woman and four negroes 
 from the neighborhood, were carried off to the 
 Indian towns. On the 15th of July, Penning- 
 ton and Milljgen were killed on the road to 
 Kentucky. 
 
 About the same time, Mr. Gillespie and a 
 boy were murdered, and another boy carried 
 into captivity. One of the most remarkable 
 affairs, belonging to the Indian hostilities of 
 this period, was an attack made by about seven 
 liundred Creeks and Cherokees upon Buchan- 
 an's Station, four miles south of Nashville. At 
 
234: OLD times; or, 
 
 the time of the attack, the station contained a 
 goodly number of women and children, but 
 only fifteen fighting men. The Indians fired a 
 great many balls into the block-house, and at- 
 tempted to set fire to the buildings. The white 
 men inside made the best possible use of their 
 rifles, and after a long and obstinate fight, the 
 Indians retired with the loss of several of their 
 foremost warriors. Not a man, woman, or child 
 in the fort was hurt, though the Indians killed 
 Gee and Clayton outside. 
 
 It was in the next year (1792) that Captain 
 Handly, with forty-tv/o men, was going from 
 Washington District to assist in the defense of 
 the Cumberland people. On his way, he was 
 met and attacked by fifty-six Indians, some of 
 them Shawnees. Except Captain Handly and 
 one of his men, named Leiper, the white men 
 instantly fell back out of farther danger. 
 Leiper was wounded, and had fallen from his 
 horse. Handly attempted to get him again on 
 his horse, but while doing so, was surrounded 
 and furiously assaulted by several Indians. 
 To save his own life, he surrendered to one of 
 them, crying out, "Canawlla!" which, in the 
 Indian language, means friendship, or peace. 
 Poor Leiper was killed and scalped, while 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 26b 
 
 Handly was taken to the Cherokee towns, and, 
 after a long and hard captivity, was restored 
 to his family and friends. 
 
 It was not in human nature, especially the 
 nature of western men, to endure these multi- 
 plied wrongs and sufferings, without some im- 
 patient outbreak. When they saw the bleeding 
 bodies of wives and children, lying in all the 
 horror of ghastly murder, upon their own 
 hearth-stones, men were not in a frame of mind 
 to study the laws of the land, or to observe the 
 niceties of governmental policy. On the 25th 
 of May, Thomas Gillam and his son were killed 
 and scalped by the Indians, in the Raccoon 
 Valley. Captain Beard and fifty mounted men 
 immediately pursued the murderers, and forgot 
 to stop at the Indian line. They killed fifteen 
 or twenty savages of the Hanging Maw's tribe, 
 and in the scuffle the wife of that chief also lost 
 her life. Beard and his party were never pun- 
 ished for this violation of law, and, indeed, 
 could not have been punished, in such a state 
 of feeling as then existed among the people of 
 the Territory. 
 
 On the 30th of August, two Indians came to 
 Mr. Hutter's, tomahawked and scalped his 
 wife, cut off* his daughter's head, and plundered 
 
236 OLD times; or, 
 
 the house. Immediately Colonel Doherty and 
 Colonel McFarland raised one hundred and 
 eighty men for an expedition into the Cherokee 
 countiy. They were out four weeks, in which 
 time they destroyed six Indian towns, and 
 killed and scalped fifteen warriors, at the same 
 time making prisoners of a good many squaws 
 and children. The scalping, in this affair, 
 proves that the white men must have been un- 
 usually exasperated. Those engaged in this 
 attack had to undergo the censures of Governor 
 Blount for a violation of law, and a disregard 
 of the President's proclamation, but the matter 
 went no farther. 
 
 Andrew Creswell, with two other men, was 
 living near McGaughey's Station. A party of 
 Cherokees coming into the neighborhood, shot 
 and wounded a man named Cunningham, who 
 made his escape to Creswell's house. Among 
 the men the question was debated whether it 
 would be better to remain, or attempt to reach 
 the station. Creswell put the question to his 
 wife, who replied that she preferred to die at 
 home. "Then," said Creswell, "I will keep 
 this house till the Indians take me out of it." 
 The building was well constructed for defense, 
 and to prevent his horses being stolen, the 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 237 
 
 stable was so arranged that the door could not 
 be opened but by a person inside of the house. 
 Seeing the place so well prepared for defense, 
 and so resolutely guarded, the Indians thought 
 best to let it alone. 
 
238 OLD TIMES; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ATTEMPT AGAINST KNOXVILLE — MASSACRE AT 
 CAVET's station — ETOWAH EXPEDITION. 
 
 On the 24tli of September, 1793, the militia 
 patrols were out all day, in the vicinity of 
 Knoxville, without being able to detect any 
 signs of approaching Indians. But in the 
 evening of that very day, a thousand warriors 
 crossed the Tennessee, below the mouth of 
 the Holston, and were in full march for Knox- 
 ville. This body, consisting of seven hundred 
 Creeks and three hundred Cherokees, was com- 
 manded by two noted chiefs — John Watts 
 and Double-head. One hundred of the Creeks 
 were mounted. They had selected Knoxville 
 as the object of attack, on account of the public 
 stores collected there, of which they hoped to 
 possess themselves by this sudden invasion. 
 By reason of some difficulties in crossing the 
 river, and a want of agreement and concert 
 among the leaders, the Indian army failed to 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 239 
 
 reach Knoxville that night, as had been ex- 
 pected by them. Not being able to surprise 
 the place by a night-attack, they abandoned 
 the enterprise entirely. 
 
 But so large a force of chiefs and braves 
 could not think of returning to their towns 
 without plunder and scalps. Cavet's Station 
 was near at hand, in which were only three 
 fighting men and a family of thirteen persons. 
 A thousand ferocious and yelling savages soon 
 surrounded the devoted place. What could 
 three- men do against such a host? What they 
 did do, was to discharge their guns at the ad- 
 vancing Indians, killing three w^arriors, and 
 wounding three others. Tliough so greatly 
 superior in numbers, the Indians concluded 
 that they would probably lose several more 
 men in storming the block-house, and proposed 
 to the men in the station to surrender. They 
 sent in a half-breed Creek, who could speak 
 English, and w^ho promised that the lives of all 
 should be spared if the station were given up. 
 
 The offer was accepted, and the Indians took 
 possession of the place and the prisoners. They 
 kept their w^ord to save the lives of the party 
 by instantly putting to death, in the most horrid 
 and barbarous manner, every individual be- 
 
240 OLD times; or, 
 
 longing to it — male and female, old and young 
 — with one exception. A lad, the son of Mr. 
 Cavet, escaped immediate death by the influ- 
 ence of John Watts, but was afterward killed 
 in the Indian country. The body of Mr. Cavet 
 Avas found next day in the garden, with seven 
 bullets in his mouth, which he had put there to 
 load his rifle with. The savages plundered and 
 burned all the buildings, and then started for 
 their towns to hold a scal|>dance, and to brag 
 of their exploits. 
 
 The policy of the Federal Government was 
 made to yield to the spirit of indignant ven- 
 geance which was now aroused. In the absence 
 of Governor Bloujit, Mr. Smith, the Secretary 
 of the Territory, authorized General Sevier to 
 invade the Cherokees and Creeks. The voice 
 of "Nolichucky Jack," calling his countrymen 
 to arms, never failed to meet a hearty and en- 
 thusiastic response, and in a few days he w^as. 
 at the head of six hundred mounted riflemen, 
 and fiercely pursuing the trail of the* retreating 
 murderers. In this determined band there 
 were some who were, at all times and habit- 
 ually, Indian-haters; but, on the present occa- 
 sion, these men scarcely went beyond the rest 
 in their eagerness to overtake and to punish 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 241 
 
 the treacherous and truculent butchers of the 
 Cavet family. 
 
 The pursuers followed the trail across Little 
 Tennessee and Hiwassee, to the Indian town of 
 Estinaula. The Indians had deserted the tov;n, 
 but left in it plentiful supplies of grain and 
 meat. AVhat the troops could not consume was 
 destroyed, together with the town itself Sevier 
 and his men encamped that night upon the 
 bank of Estinaula River, with the woods 
 around them full of Indians. Next day they 
 moved forward toward the Indian town of 
 Etowah, upon the Coosa Eiver. The warriors 
 at Etowah were known to have been under 
 John Watts, and to have taken part in the 
 massacre at Cavet's. How many they were 
 was matter of indifference to Sevier's men, 
 their only solicitude being to get within rifle 
 distance of the miscreants. 
 
 Partly by an accident, the approach and 
 attack were made in such a manner that the 
 Indian warriors could not get away, but were 
 hemmed in between the assailants and the river- 
 bank. The troops dismounted, and poured in a 
 deadly fire upon them. The Indians fought 
 bravely for awhile, under the encouragement 
 and example of their leader, called King-fisher. 
 
242 OLD times; or, 
 
 Hugh L. AVhite and two others, standing near 
 each other, leveled their rifles at him, and he 
 fell. Upon the death of the chief, the sur- 
 viving Indians broke, and fled in all directions, 
 and left the whites masters of the field and of 
 the town. 
 
 Three white men lost their lives in this en- 
 gagement — Pruett, Weir, and Wallace. The 
 town of Etowah was burned, and several others 
 were destroyed on the return -march of the 
 troops. This was the last act of General Se- 
 vi'er's military career, as he shortly after went 
 into the civil service of the country. For more 
 than twenty years he had been the favorite 
 leader of the western volunteers in all their 
 wars with the Indians, British, and Tories. He 
 had been in thirty-five battles, was never de- 
 feated, and never wounded. In all his Indian 
 campaigns, he had only lost fifty-six men, and 
 this last expedition was the only one for which 
 he ever received a dollar of pay. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTOKV. 243 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 RENEWAL OF INDIAN TROUBLES. 
 
 The cliastisement inflicted upon the Creeks 
 and Cherokees, as narrated in the last chapter, 
 had the usual effect of quelling their spirit and 
 checking their inroads for a season only. It 
 would be necessary that the lesson should be re- 
 peated, in order to make a permanent impression. 
 While Sevier and the volunteers were away 
 in the expedition to Etowah, the Indians killed 
 a boy and a woman near Dandridge. They 
 were stuck in the throat like hogs, their heads 
 entirely skinned, and their bodies left naked. 
 As the neighbors were carrying the bodies to a 
 burying-ground, two men happened to go a 
 little ahead of the rest, and were fired upon by 
 about fifty Indians. One of them escaped, 
 though wounded, and the other being found 
 dead and scalped, was buried in the same 
 grave with the two corpses he had been at- 
 tending. 
 
244 * OLD TIxMES; OR, 
 
 So great was the relief from Indian invasion 
 experienced by the inhabitants of JMero Dis- 
 trict for some time after Sevier's trip to Etov»'ah, 
 that they sent him their thanks, and a request 
 that he would soon pay another visit to the 
 Indian towns. It was not long before the be- 
 havior of the Indians showed very plainly 
 that they were much in need of another casti- 
 gation. In April, 1794, they attacked a com- 
 pany of travelers, near the Crab Orchard. In 
 this attack, Thomas Sharpe Spencer, the cele- 
 brated pioneer hunter, was killed, and, from 
 that circumstance, the place, on the great east- 
 ern road from Nashville, is called Spencer's 
 Hill to this day. 
 
 Dr. Cozby was an old Indian fighter, and 
 it was hard for them to catch him napping. 
 On a moonlight night, a large party of them 
 approached his cabin, in which were only him- 
 self, his wife, and several children, of which 
 one boy was old enough to use a gun. The 
 Doctor, always upon the watch, saw them be- 
 fore they were near the house, barricaded the 
 door, and began to give orders ip a loud voice, 
 as if he had a houseful of armed men. The 
 Indians were deceived, and sneaked away, in 
 search of better fortune elseAvhere. This they 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 245 
 
 found at the house of William Casteel, living 
 about two miles from Cozby's. 
 
 Casteel and a neighbor, named Reagan, had 
 agreed to have a hunt the next day. Reagan 
 came to Casteel's early in the morning, where 
 he found the whole family dead — butchered in 
 the most horrid and revolting manner. The 
 family consisted of Casteel himself, his wife, and 
 five children — the oldest a daughter of ten 
 years. "We have said they were all dead, and 
 so indeed they seemed to the visitor. When 
 the neighbors were preparing them for burial, 
 Elizabeth, the oldest daughter, showed some 
 signs of life, though wounded in six places with 
 a tomahawk, besides being scalped. She slowly 
 revived, and in two years was well again, was 
 married, and lived long after. The rest of the 
 family are all in one grave, under an oak-tree, 
 still standing. 
 
 The excitement produced by this massacre 
 was scarcely less than that which followed the 
 murder of the Cavets. The people were clam- 
 orous for an immediate and exterminating 
 invasion of the Indian towns, and it required 
 all the influence and exertions of the civil offi- 
 cers to restrain them from a march across the 
 border, in defiance of the law. About the' same 
 
246 OLD times; or, 
 
 time, John Isli was killed, while plowing in his 
 field, eighteen miles from Knoxville. This was 
 done by some Creeks, and the Cherokees caught 
 and delivered up one of the murderers to a 
 party of white men that went in pursuit. He 
 was regularly tried by a court and jury for the 
 crime of murder, and found guilty. His name 
 was Obongpohego, which means, in English, 
 "dance upon nothing." This exj^loit he was 
 soon required to perform, for the satisfaction of 
 the people, who greatly enjoyed the spectacle. 
 
 "We have before noticed the defeat of the army 
 under General St. Clair, by the Korthern In- 
 dians, in 1791. The Government of the United 
 States afterward sent General Wayne, with 
 another arm}'-, against the same tribes. This 
 effort was more successful, and Wayne inflicted 
 upon the Indians an overwhelming and ruinous 
 defeat. ISTews of this disaster to their northern 
 brothers had reached the Cherokees, and they 
 at once became, or pretended to be, inclined to 
 ^eace. Governor Blount agreed to hold a 
 council with their chiefs at Tellico. It Avas 
 easily agreed that, in time to come, there should 
 be peace and friendship between the Cherokees 
 and the inhabitants of the South-west Territory, 
 and that all prisoners and property taken 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 247 
 
 during the war, should be restored by both 
 2~>arties. 
 
 But in despite of treaties and pretensions of 
 friendship, the work of massacre and devasta- 
 tion went on. Not a vreek, and scarcely a day 
 passed, without some cabin laid in ashes, and 
 some family bereaved, or destroyed. It had 
 long been seen by some, and was now evident 
 to the experience of all, that defensive measures 
 alone would never secure the people of the 
 Territory against Indian aggression. General 
 Eobertson was a cool and considerate officer, 
 and every way disposed to respect the laws of 
 the land, and to obey the ordei*s of his official 
 superiors ; but he was, at the same time, gener- 
 ous and sympathizing, and could no longer sufi'er 
 the punctilios of official propriety to prevent 
 the relief demanded by the united cries of his 
 distressed countrymen. He assumed the re- 
 sponsibility of doing what shall be related iu 
 the next chapter. 
 
248 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EXPEDITION TO NICKOJACK. 
 
 In the fourteenth chapter of the second Book 
 is given some account of an unfortunate attempt 
 made by a party, under the direction of Colonel 
 Brown, to get to Nashville by way of the Ten- 
 nessee River. Our readers will also remember 
 that one of Colonel Brown's sons — Joseph — had 
 been detained as a captive among the lower 
 Cherokees, for a year or more. He was seven- 
 teen years old when he returned to the white 
 settlements, and was now about twenty-two. 
 He had not forgotten the cruelties inflicted by 
 the savages on his father's family, nor the suf- 
 ferings of his own hard captivity. Indeed, the 
 Indians would not suffer him thus to forget, for 
 a lurking party of them had lately shot and 
 wounded him in the shoulder, b}'- which he -was 
 still partially disabled. 
 
 As has been before stated, the Chickamaugas 
 and their confederates, who held the towns 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 249 
 
 about The Narrows of the Tennessee, had been 
 the most destructive enem%s of the white settle- 
 ments, both in East and Middle Tennessee. It 
 was doubted whether an army could be marched 
 across the spur of the Cumberland Mountain at 
 The Narrows, so as effectually to invade the 
 towns. Joseph Brown and several others un- 
 dertook an exploration for the purpose of set- 
 tling this point. They made the tour, and 
 re^Dorted to General Robertson that it was quite 
 practicable for horsemen to get over the moun- 
 tain, and, by leaving the horses on this side, to 
 cross the river opposite to Nickojack. 
 
 General Robertson at once resolved to strike 
 a blow in that direction, and issued the neces- 
 sary orders to his subordinates. The troops 
 of Mero District were soon assembled, under 
 Colonels Ford and Montgomery, and rendez- 
 voused at a block-house near Buchanan's Sta- 
 tion. Here they were shortly joined by a body 
 of volunteers from Kentucky, commanded by 
 Colonel Whitley. Colonel Orr, also, who had 
 been sent by Governor Blount with a body of 
 troops to assist in the defense of the Cum- 
 berland settlements, was persuaded to join the 
 expedition. As he was the only officer acting 
 under the authority of the Governor, he took 
 
250 OLD times; or, 
 
 command of the entire army, and the movement 
 was generally knowi?as Orr's expedition, though 
 in truth the actual direction of affairs was com- 
 mitted to Colonel Whitley. 
 
 All things being in readiness, the army, 
 amounting to more than five hundred mounted 
 riflemen, set out on Sunday, 7th of September, 
 1794. Under the guidance of Joseph Brown, 
 they took the direct course to Nickojack, passing 
 near the head of Elk. It was night when they 
 reached the Tennessee, where they camped, 
 though some of the men swam the river before 
 daylight. In the morning, after leaving a large 
 guard with the horses on this side, the remain- 
 der of the troops crossed to the southern bank, 
 some on rafts made of dry cane, and others by 
 swimming. Among the swimmers were Wil- 
 liam Trousdale, since Governor of the State, 
 and Joseph Brown, who could only use one 
 arm in the operation. 
 
 An exploit of William and Gideon Pillow, 
 upon this occasion, deserves to be mentioned. 
 As they were excellent swimmers, they were 
 selected to take over a raft carrying the guns, 
 powder, and clothes of their company, so as to 
 keep them dry. A rope tied to the jaft was 
 held by William in his teeth, that his arms 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 251 
 
 might be free for swimming. In this way he 
 pulled the raft after him, while Gideon and 
 another man swam behind and j^ushed it. 
 How Andrew Jackson passed the river is not 
 known, but he was there, and probably this was 
 his first experience in that military career in 
 which he afterward became so distinguished. 
 He was then a young lawyer, and had lately 
 emigrated from North Carolina. 
 
 The troops were safely landed on the south- 
 ern bank, and, with their equipments all in 
 good order, stood ready for the work they had 
 come to do. The Indians had not the least 
 notice of the attack, until the keen report of the 
 rifles was heard in the very heart of the town. 
 Being completely surprised, the warriors were 
 equally unready to fight and unable to escape. 
 Many of them— w^arriors, squaws, and children 
 together — attempted to get ofi* in their canoes, 
 but were mostly killed before they could put 
 out into the stream. A few saved themselves 
 l^y lying close in the bottoms of the canoes, 
 while they were carried down by the rapid 
 current. 
 
 Running-water town, about a mile distant 
 from Nickojack, shared the same fate. They 
 were both destroyed, with every thing valuable 
 
252 OLD TliMES; OR, 
 
 which the Indians had collected there, much of 
 it plunder which for years they had been carry- 
 ing off from the white settlements. About 
 seventy Avarriors are known to have perished, 
 and eighteen women and children were made 
 prisoners. As the men were taking these latter 
 down the river to the crossing-place, one of the 
 squaws slyly got rid of her clothes, jumped out 
 of the canoe, and swam rapidly away. She 
 might have been easily killed in the water, but 
 as the men could not bring themselves to shoot 
 a woman, she was allowed to escape. The only 
 damage suffered by the invaders was three men 
 slightly wounded. 
 
 On the same day, the troops returned to the 
 north bank of the river, and rejoined their com- 
 rades, who had been left to take care of the 
 horses. By the same route they had pursued 
 in their outward march, they returned to Nash- 
 ville, where the volunteers were disbanded. 
 Colonel Orr went immediately to Knoxville, 
 and reported to Governor Blount the events of 
 the expedition, undertaken contrary to the 
 Governor's public orders. In a few days, this 
 was followed by a letter of explanation or apol- 
 ogy from General Eobertson, and the whole 
 affair was allowed to pass without farther 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 253 
 
 question. The great advantages Avhicli Vv-ere 
 expected to result from the expedition made 
 every one inclined to overlook any irregularity 
 in the procedure. 
 
 And this expectation was not disappointed. 
 Indian murders and robberies did not abso- 
 lutely cease, but they became much less fre- 
 quent and general. At Nickojack the savages 
 had been taught a severe but wholesome lesson. 
 Thenceforth they seem to have been convinced 
 that they could never succeed in preventing the 
 occupation and settlement of the country by 
 white men. Even horse-stealing, and other 
 similar depredations, were practiced with less 
 boldness, when they had discovered that their 
 strongholds at The Narrows could not pro- 
 tect them against the avenging visitations 
 of western volunteers. It was not till the war 
 between Great Britain and the United States, 
 in 1812, that they were roused to a last, ex- 
 piring effort to drive back the tide of civiliza- 
 tion, which was fast covering their favorite 
 hunting-grounds with farms and villages. 
 
254 OLD times; or, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CIVIL KEGULATIOXS OF THE TERIMTORY. 
 
 Under this head, as well as any other, it 
 may be mentioned that the first newspaper 
 published in what is now the State of Tennessee, 
 was issued on the 5th of November, 1791. It 
 was called the "Knoxville Gazette," of which 
 George Roulstone was printer, proprietor, and 
 editor. The earlier numbers were printed at 
 Rogersville, in Hawkins county ; but the 2:)ubli- 
 cation was soon transferred to Knoxville, as 
 was contemplated from the first. About this 
 time Knoxville had become the territorial cap- 
 ital, and a good many buildings went up in the 
 course of the year 1792. Mr. White, the OAvner 
 of the land, laid off the town in the most liberal 
 spirit, allowing a suitable lot for a church, an 
 entire square as the site for a college, another 
 for a court-house, jail, etc. 
 
 The county of Hawkins was now divided, 
 and Knox county organized, of which Knox- 
 ville was the county seat. In the next year, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 255 
 
 (1792,) Jefferson county was taken from Greene 
 and Hawkins. The first county court was held 
 in Knox on the 16th of June, 1792. An ordi- 
 nance was passed by the Governor and Judges, 
 authorizing the county courts of the Territory 
 to levy a tax for county purposes, such as build- 
 ing court-houses and jails, paying jurors, etc. 
 The poll-tax -was not to be more than fifty 
 cents, nor the land-tax more than seventeen 
 cents on a hundred acres. 
 
 According to the ordinance of Congress for 
 the government of the Territory, the Governor 
 and Judges were to regulate its afiairs until the 
 population should amount to five thousand 
 men qualified to vote. The people were then 
 entitled to have a Territorial Government, con- 
 sisting of the Governor, a Legislative Council, 
 and a House of Eepresentatives. Governor 
 Blount being satisfied that the Territory then 
 contained the requisite number of votes, issued 
 a proclamation calling upon the people to vote 
 for members of the House of Representatives, 
 on the third Friday and Saturday in December, 
 1793. Washington, Hawkins, Jefferson, and 
 Knox were to have each two representatives; 
 Sullivan, Greene, Tennessee, Davidson, and 
 Sumner, each one representative. 
 
256 OLD times; ok, 
 
 The election having been held, the Governor 
 appointed the fourth Monday of February, 
 1794, as the day of their first meeting, at 
 Knoxville. They assembled accordingly, and 
 chose David Wilson for Speaker, and Hopkins 
 Lacy, Clerk. On the second day, and before 
 entering upon any business, the members, with 
 the Governor and Speaker at their head, 
 marched in a body to the church, where re- 
 ligious services were performed by the Kev. 
 Mr. Carrick. Upon returning to tlieir room, 
 the first business done was to select ten persons, 
 of whom Congress was to appoint five, as mem- 
 bers of the Legislative Council. They also 
 prepared and adopted an address to the Gov- 
 ernor, and a memorial to Congress, setting forth 
 the condition of the Territory, and asking that 
 more effectual measures should be employed by 
 the Federal Government, to protect the inhab- 
 itants against Indian aggressions. 
 
 As no law could be passed without the Coun- 
 cil, the representatives then returned to their 
 homes, to assemble again on the 25th of August, 
 1794, agreeably to the Governor's appointment. 
 In the meantime, the members of the Council 
 had been commissioned by the President. They 
 were GrifiSth Rutherford, John Sevier, James 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 257 
 
 "Wincliestcr, Stokeley Donclsoii, and Parmenas 
 Taylor. At the appointed time, both the Coun- 
 cil and the House of Kepresentatives were duly 
 organized, and duly notified each other, and 
 also the Governor, thaf they were ready to pro- 
 ceed to business. A committee was appointed 
 by each of these bodies, to consult together, and 
 adopt proper rules for regulating the intercourse 
 between them. 
 
 From the "Kules of Decorum," adopted by 
 the House for the government of its own mem- 
 bers, we can perceive that their behavior was 
 not permitted to be quite so " free and easy " as 
 legislators have come to indulge in since that 
 time. One of these rules was that, " Upon ad- 
 journment, no member shall presume to move 
 until the Speaker arises and goes before." In- 
 deed, much greater ceremony was used in those 
 days, upon all serious occasions, than is now 
 fashionable. Governors, judges, legislators, and 
 even justices of the peace, in the times imme- 
 diately succeeding the Revolution, were re- 
 garded as in some measure representing the 
 dignity of the State, and treated with a respect- 
 ful awe to which the present generation are 
 entire strangers. 
 
 Some opinion may be formed of the industry 
 9 
 
258 OLD TIxMES; OR, 
 
 and earnestness with which public business was 
 transacted in those primitive times, when we 
 learn that it was usual for the House to be in 
 session as early as seven o'clock in the morning, 
 in the month of September. While they were 
 working at this .rate, each member was receiv- 
 ing two dollars and fifty cents per day for his 
 legislative services, and that for a session of 
 little more than one month. For want of ac- 
 commodation in Knoxville, many members 
 boarded "everal miles out, and walked to town 
 every morning. As an evidence of the state of 
 the country at this time, it may be mentioned 
 that the two members from Knox county ob- 
 tained leave of absence from the House for a 
 week, that they might assist in driving off a 
 band of marauding Cherokees that were doing 
 mischief in the settlements. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 259 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TERRITORIAL LEGISLA- 
 TURE. 
 
 Both the Council and the House being now 
 fully organized, and the mode of doing business 
 being agreed upon, they at once took into con- 
 sideration the condition of the Territory, and 
 jDroceeded to enact such laws as the public 
 interests seemed to them to demand. To men 
 who had partaken of all the hardships and pri- 
 vations of the inhabitants from the commence- 
 ment of the settlements, there could be little 
 difficulty in ascertaining what were the most 
 pressing needs of the community to be relieved 
 by legislation. The members, being almost 
 entirely of this sort of persons, had little occa- 
 sion to inquire what ought to be done, though 
 their want of experience in such matters might 
 produce some embarrassment as to the mode of 
 doing it. 
 
 Among the first acts of the session was one, 
 
260 OLD times; or, 
 
 introduced by General SevierTproviding for the 
 relief of persons who had been disabled in the 
 Indian wars, and of the families of such as had 
 been killed. By other acts, two colleges were 
 chartered: Greeneville College, in Greene 
 county, and Blount College, at Knoxville. The 
 latter institution has since taken the name of 
 East Tennessee University. A memorial was 
 prepared, to be presented to Congress, in regard 
 to the condition of the settlers south of French 
 Broad Kiver. It has been before explained 
 that this part of the Territory had been settled, 
 under a treaty made with the Cherokees, by the 
 State of Franklin. As this turned out to be no 
 authority in law, those who had settled and 
 improved lands there, were now liable to be 
 dispossessed by Congress. 
 
 The ordinance establishing a government for 
 the Territory, had provided that the Council 
 and the House of Representatives, by a j(?int 
 vote, should elect a Delegate to the Congress 
 of the United States. This duty was performed, 
 and the choice fell upon James White, of 
 Knoxville. The Delegate was instructed ear- 
 nestly to represent to Congress the sufferings of 
 the people from Indian hostilities, and to ask, 
 in the most pressing manner, tliat the protection 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 261 
 
 of the Federal Government might be extended 
 to them. In this representation it was to be 
 insisted that the defensive policy of the Govern- 
 ment would continue to fail, as it had already 
 failed, to obtain any adequate security against 
 Indian aggressions. A list of the names of per- 
 sons, killed by the savages in the six months 
 preceding, was furnished the Delegate, to be 
 laid before the President. They amount to 
 more than a hundred. 
 
 The Council and the House readily agreed 
 upon all subjects, except- the single one of taxes 
 to be levied. As this proved to be, for some 
 years, a subject of considerable interest and 
 excitement among the people of the Territory, 
 and afterward of the State, it deserves a few 
 'words of explanation. At this time, large 
 bodies of the best land in Tennessee were owned 
 by men who did not live here, but in the old 
 States. In many instances, the old soldiers, to 
 whom North Carolina had granted lands in the 
 West, were forced by their poverty to sell their 
 claims to wealthy speculators, who w^ould expect 
 to make a great profit by a rise in the price of 
 the lands. This increase in the value of the 
 lands would depend upon the settlement of the 
 country, and the settlement, of course, must be 
 
262 OLD times; or, 
 
 made by those avIio v/ere, in making it, to be 
 exposed to all the hardships and dangers of 
 frontier life, while many of the land -owners 
 were living in ease and safety elsewhere. 
 
 In fixing the taxes for the support of the 
 Territorial Government, the House of Keprc- 
 sentatives, coming immediately from the people, 
 were inclined to lay a heavier tax on land, and 
 a lighter one on polls, or persons. They in- 
 sisted on a tax of twenty-five cents per hundred 
 acres, while the Council proposed only eighteen. 
 As the consent of both branches was necessary 
 to pass a law, this difference between them pro- 
 duced a dead-loch in the Legislature for several 
 days ; but at length the Council gave way, and 
 the tax was settled according to the views of 
 the Representatives. From a similar feeling, 
 no doubt, a proposition to exempt workmen at 
 iron foundries from military duty, was success- 
 fully opposed by the House. 
 
 The people of the Territory, from the time 
 of its transfer to the Federal Government, had 
 been looking to a separate State organization 
 in a few years. On this account, much less was 
 done or attempted by the Territorial Legisla- 
 ture than would otherwise have ' been requisite 
 and proper. The ordinance of Congress au- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 263 
 
 thorizecl the formation of a State whenever it 
 was ascertained that^he population of the Ter- 
 ritory had increased to sixty thousand white 
 inhabitants. After a session of thirty-seven 
 days, both Houses were prorogued by Governor 
 Blount, to meet again, at Knoxville, on the 
 first Monday of October, 1795. The entire 
 expense of the session w' as ascertained to be tw^o 
 thousand six hundred and seventy-one dollars. 
 The session of the Legislature of Tennessee, in 
 1859-60, cost the State more than ninety thou- 
 sand dollars. 
 
 In the interval between the first and second 
 sessions of the Legislature, there were a few 
 instances of Indian murder, one of which was 
 attended by circumstances so singular as to de- 
 serve particular mention. Mr. Mann, living 
 twelve miles from Knoxville, w^as called out of 
 his house at night to attend to some disturbance 
 which he heard at his stable. He was fired 
 upon and wounded by Indians, who pursued 
 him to a cave not far off, where they killed and 
 scalped him. His wife was left in the house, 
 with several small children asleep. Peeping 
 out, she presently saw the Indians marching up 
 to the house, one behind another. She had 
 that morning learned how to fire a rifle. With- 
 
264 OLD times; or, 
 
 out speaking a word, she pointed the muzzle 
 through the crack of the door, and, as the fore- 
 most Indian pressed against it, she pulled the 
 trigger. The Indian fell dead, and the one 
 next to him was wounded. As the room was 
 too dark for them to see into it, and Mrs. Mann 
 and her children maintained perfect silence, 
 the Indians concluded that there might be sev- 
 eral armed men in the house, and made haste 
 to get out of the supposed danger. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 265 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SECOND SESSION — PREPARATION FOR THE 
 NEW STATE. 
 
 As Ave have seen, the Territorial Legislature 
 was to meet again on the first Monday of 
 October, 1795. However, Governor Blount 
 thought proper to convene them by proclama- 
 tion at an earlier day, namely, the 29th of 
 June. The principal reason for this step was 
 the general Avish of the people that the neces- 
 sary measures should be adopted to change 
 the Territorial into an independent State 
 Government as speedily as practicable. If 
 the western settlements had been neglected 
 by North Carolina, they were no less ill- 
 treated, in the opinion of the inhabitants, 
 by the restrictions, especially in regard to 
 Indian intercourse, imposed upon them by 
 their guardian, the Federal Government. In 
 a word, the community felt itself to be 
 
266 OLD TIiMES; OR, 
 
 now of full age, and was naturally desirous 
 to undertake the management of its own 
 affairs. 
 
 Among the acts of this, the second and last, 
 session of the Territorial Assembly, was one to 
 raise " Martin Academy " to the rank of a col- 
 lege, with the name of Washington. By 
 another, Knox county was divided, and Blount 
 county formed of a part of it. The county seat 
 was called Maryville, in compliment to the 
 amiable wife of Governor Blount, whose Chris- 
 tian name was Mary, and subsequently another 
 new county was called Grainger, which was 
 her family name before marriage. Little time, 
 however, was consumed in attention to minor 
 affairs, and the Legislature hastened to pro- 
 vide by law for those preliminary proceedings 
 which were to usher in the new State. The 
 feeling in favor of the change was so general 
 that only one member voted against the 
 measure. 
 
 Li furtherance of the desired object, the 
 Legislature passed an act requiring a census to 
 be taken of the inhabitants of the Territory, to 
 ascertain whether or not it had the j^opulation 
 required by the law of Congress. In case a 
 population of sixty thousand should be re- 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 267 
 
 ported to the Governor, that officer was then 
 authorized to call upon the citizens, by proc- 
 lamation, to elect five men from each county, 
 to meet in convention, and frame a consti- 
 tution for the new State. The convention 
 was to be held at Knoxville, at such time 
 as the Governor should appoint, and its 
 members were to receive the same pay as 
 those of the Legislature. Having thus pre- 
 l^ared the way for the incoming of a new 
 organization of government, the Legislature 
 was prorogued, sinr. die — that is, dissolved to 
 meet no more. 
 
 W obedience to the act of the Legislature, 
 the sheriffs of the eleven counties, then com- 
 posing the Territory, proceeded to enumerate 
 the population. From the returns made to the 
 Governor, it appears that there were then in 
 the Territory a total of seventy-seven thousand 
 two hundred and sixty-three, of which there 
 were thirty -six thousand one hundred and 
 twenty-three white males, twenty-nine thousand 
 five hundred and fifty-four white females, ten 
 thousand six hundred and thirteen slaves, and 
 nine hundred and seventy-three of all other 
 persons. 
 
 Though not required to do so by law, 
 
268 OLD times; or, 
 
 it seems tliat the sheriffs of all the counties, 
 except Sumner, took and reported the vote for 
 and against an independent State. The result 
 was six thousand five hundred and four in 
 favor, and two thousand five hundred and sixty- 
 two opposed. 
 
 The requisite amount of population having 
 been thus ascertained to exist. Governor Blount, 
 on the 28th day of November, 1795, issued his 
 proclamation, directing elections to be held in 
 the several counties for members of a constitu- 
 tional convention. The elections were held 
 accordingly, and the convention commenced its 
 session, at Knoxville, on the 11th of Janftary, 
 1796. The body was organized for business by 
 the election of Governor Blount, as President, 
 William Maclin, Secretary, and John Sevier, 
 Jr., Reading and Engrossing Clerk. It was 
 resolved that the session on the second day 
 should be opened with prayer, and also a ser- 
 mon from the Rev. Mr. Carrick. 
 
 Two members from each county were ap- 
 pointed to make a draft of a constitution, to be 
 afterward submitted to the whole body. The 
 work of the committee was completed, and 
 reported on the 27th of January. It was 
 examined, discussed, and amended, from that 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 269 
 
 time to the 6tli of February, wlien "the en- 
 grossed copy of the constitution was read, and 
 passed unanimously." The President was di- 
 rected to keep a copy of the constitution to 
 be delivered to the Secretary of State, when 
 appointed, and to forward another to the 
 Secretary of State of the United States, at 
 Philadelphia. The same officer w^as farther 
 instructed to call upon the sheriffs, in the 
 several counties, to hold the first election for 
 Governor and members of the Legislature, 
 under the Constitution of the State of Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 Having fully accomplished their work in 
 twenty -seven days, the convention was dis- 
 solved. The pay of the members had been 
 fixed at two dollars and a half per day by the 
 act of the Territorial Legislature ; but no pro- 
 vision had been made for clerks, printing, and 
 other incidental expenses. To meet this want, 
 the members agreed to receive only one dollar 
 and a half for their daily pay, and that out of 
 the remainder those expenses should be paid, 
 for which no provision had been made. Under 
 this resolution, the clerks received each two 
 dollars and a half per day, and the door- 
 keeper two dollars. For furnishing seats for 
 
270 OLD times; or, 
 
 the convention ten dollars was allowed, and 
 two dollars and sixty-two cents for oil-cloth 
 to cover the tables used by the President and 
 Secretary. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 271 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 As authorized and required by an ordinance 
 of the convention, the President issued his writs, 
 directed to the several sheriffs, to open and hold 
 an election for Governor and members of the 
 General Assembly of the State of Tennessee. 
 An election was held accordingly, and by the 
 President's appointment, the first session of the 
 General Assembly of Tennessee was held at 
 Knoxville, commencing on the 28th of March, 
 1796. James AVinchester was chosen Speaker 
 of the Senate, and James Stewart of the House, 
 and the two bodies exchanged messages notify- 
 ing each other that they were organized and 
 ready to proceed to business. 
 
 On the same day the two Houses met in the 
 chamber of the Representatives to examine the 
 returns of the election for Governor. Upon 
 counting the votes, it was duly shown that John 
 Sevier had been chosen for that office, and the 
 
272 OLD times; or, 
 
 result proclaimed by the Speaker of the Senate 
 in presence of the two Houses. A committee 
 was appointed to notify Governor Sevier of his 
 election, and to request his attendance, at twelve 
 o'clock of the next day, in the House of Eepre- 
 sentatives, to take the oaths of office. Another 
 committee was sent to inform Governor Blount 
 of these arrangements, and invite him to be 
 present at the inauguration of his successor. 
 
 The next most important proceeding of the 
 General Assembly, was the appointment of two 
 Senators in Congress. This trust was commit- 
 ted to Governor William Blount and William 
 Cocke, Esq. The election was attended with 
 much greater ceremony than is now usually em- 
 ployed upon such an occasion. The joint com- 
 mittee of the two Houses appointed for the 
 purpose, in notifying these gentlemen of their 
 election, addressed both of them by the singular 
 title of "Citizen." This form of speech was 
 probably an imitation of the French Republi- 
 cans, for whose character and principles there 
 was then great admiration among a large por- 
 tion of the American people. 
 
 Congress being in session when the Constitu- 
 tion of Tennessee was adopted and transmitted 
 to the Secretary of State of the United States, 
 
TENNESSEE niSTORY. 273 
 
 President AYaslungton immediately, by a special 
 message, brought the subject before that body. 
 There was at first some show of objection in the 
 Senate, which, however, was at length over- 
 ruled, and in June an act of Congress was 
 passed, admitting Tennessee into the Union 
 upon the same footing as the other States. 
 Vermont and Kentucky had been admitted 
 before — the former in 1791, the latter in 1792c 
 Tennessee was therefore the third new State 
 added to the original thirteen, and making the 
 whole number sixteen. The name, Tennessee, 
 was given by the convention that framed the 
 constitution. Before that, the name had be- 
 longed only to the great river of the country, 
 and to a county on the Cumberland, which was 
 subsequently divided into the two counties of 
 Eobertson and Montgomery. 
 
 Governor Sevier having assumed the duties 
 of his office, and the various subordinate officers 
 having been duly commissioned, the govern- 
 mental machinery was at once in operation, and 
 nothing was wanting to a complete organization. 
 The constitution then adopted, remained in 
 force till the year 1834, when another conven- 
 tion was held, and a new one made. This new 
 constitution, with the various amendments it 
 
274 OLD times; or, 
 
 has since received, differs in a good many re- 
 spects from the* old one of 1796. Among other 
 matters, many officers — judges, clerks, sheriffs, 
 etc. — who were formerly appointed by the 
 Legislature and the circuit and county courts, 
 are now elected by the people. 
 
 The Territorial Government had left the 
 public treasury in a prosperous condition. The 
 State commenced its existence out of debt, and 
 with some money on hand. The Federal au- 
 thorities had made a treaty with Spain, by 
 which that nation had agreed that the people 
 of the United States should enjoy the free and 
 unmolested navigation of the Mississippi Kiver, 
 and thus removed a source of great irritation, 
 among the western people, and of danger to the 
 whole Union. The neighboring Indian tribes, 
 no longer instigated by Spanish agents, and 
 humbled by their defeats and disasters at 
 Etowah and Nickojack, were comparatively 
 inoffensive, certainly not inclined to provoke 
 farther chastisement. 
 
 But in the midst of much present prosperity, 
 and the fair hopes of increasing success and 
 aggrandizement, there was still left one source 
 of disquiet to the people of Tennessee, which 
 continued to annoy them for several years 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 275 
 
 longer. This was the uncertainty of land- 
 titles in some sections of the State, and the 
 difficulties with the Federal Government, 
 arising from that cause. It has been stated 
 before that the people living south of the 
 French Broad, were on land that had not 
 been ceded by the Cherokees, except to the 
 State of Franklin, whose authority had been 
 set aside. In addition to this, North, Carolina 
 had granted lands, (and those lands had been 
 actually settled,) that were Indian territory, 
 according to the treaty of Holston, made by 
 authority of the United States. 
 
 After the adoption of the Federal Constitu- 
 tion, there was no authority to make treaties 
 Avith the Indians, except the President and 
 Congress of the United States. The occupants 
 of the unceded lands were liable, at any mo- 
 ment, to be removed from their homes by offi- 
 cers and soldiers of the United States, some of 
 whom were stationed in the country for the 
 purpose of keeping peace with the Indians, and 
 taking care that the whites did not intrude 
 upon the lands reserved to them by treaty. 
 This state of things gave rise to much angry 
 discussion, and loud complaints were uttered 
 against the Government, with General Wash- 
 
276 OLD times; or, 
 
 ington at its head, because they did not at once 
 procure an extinguishment of the Indian title. 
 This was at length accomplished, but, in the 
 meantime, it required much prudence on the 
 part of the Federal officers, and all the influ- 
 ence of Sevier and Kobertson, and other discreet 
 citizens, to prevent a hostile collision between 
 the people and the troops of the Government. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 EXTENT OF THE SETTLEMENTS — AGEICULTUEE 
 AND TRADE IN 1796. 
 
 With the organization of the State Govern- 
 ment, we propose that this history shall come to 
 an end. To give even a sketch of events np to 
 the present time would swell this little book to 
 a size inconvenient for the purpose it is mainly- 
 intended to serve. Besides, we should have 
 necessarily to dej^ more with matters of legisla- 
 tion and politics than would be suitable to the 
 design of this work, or to the taste and capacity 
 of young readers. Another reason for stopping 
 here is, that from the time of the establishment 
 of the State Government, the current of public 
 affairs soon began to run in the same channel 
 as at present, and an account of them would 
 be less interesting to persons in general than 
 that of the very peculiar circumstances attend- 
 ing the commencement and early progress of 
 the settlement and population of the comitry. 
 
278 
 
 So singular, indeed, Avere these circumstances, 
 as to give rise for awhile to a very uncommon 
 state of society, which perhaps has never had a 
 parallel, except in the neighboring State of 
 Kentucky about the same time. Our readers, 
 we think, will not be displeased, if, before 
 closing our work, we devote a few pages to 
 some description of the condition of the country 
 and people, as they were in 1796. And it may 
 be here remarked that, ^as the condition of 
 things was then, it continued, with slight and 
 gradual changes, for many years after. It was 
 not until steam navigation and the culture of 
 cotton had produced an active and gainful 
 commerce, that the old pioneer character and 
 backw^oods habits began to disappear. 
 
 At the time w^hen the State of Tennessee was 
 admitted into the Union, the actual settlements 
 covered less than one-third of the area within 
 her present limits. In East Tennessee, they 
 extended as far w^est as the Little Tennessee, 
 on the south of the Holston ; on the north side 
 of that river, a little w^est of Knoxville. The 
 Middle Tennessee, or Cumberland colony, had 
 spread over the surface included in the present 
 counties of Davidson, Cheatham, Montgomery, 
 Robertson, Sumner, Wilson, and Williamson, 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 279 
 
 and in these there were wide intervals Avithout 
 a cabin or a clearing. West Tennessee was an 
 unbroken wilderness, unless we might except a 
 trading post at the Chickasaw Bluffs, on the 
 Mississippi. 
 
 In the older portions of the settlements, suffi- 
 cient land had now been cleared to enable the 
 occupants to raise plentiful crops of Indian 
 corn, not only for their own use, but also to 
 supply the large number of emigrants contin- 
 ually coming into the country. Tobacco was 
 cultivated to some extent, and little patches of 
 cotton for domestic use. But wheat and other 
 small grain w^ere scarcely ever seen ; indeed, the 
 land generally was too rich for this kind of crops, 
 even if there had been enough of it cleared 
 to allow a part to be employed in that way. 
 
 The trade of the country was very nearly 
 none at all. Emigrants from the old States 
 would consume a portion of the surplus corn 
 and meat; but they w^ere seldom able to pay 
 for these articles in money. The usual mode 
 with them was to obtain a year's supply for a 
 few months' labor, which increased the produc- 
 tion for the next year. Corn could not be 
 taken across the mountains to the old States, 
 and the practice of driving fat hogs to Virginia, 
 
280 OLD times; or, 
 
 and North and South Carolina, was then hardly- 
 begun, on account of the small demand in 
 those places. As to taking mules to the South, 
 which has since become so common and so 
 profitable, it must be remembered that Ala- 
 bama and Mississippi were not then settled; 
 besides, there were no mules in Tennessee, per- 
 haps not a hundred in the United States. 
 
 Occasionally a boat-load of peltries, bacon, 
 honey, (gathered from the forest-trees,) and other 
 similar products, would go down the Tennessee, 
 the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, 
 to Natchez and New Orleans. After selling out 
 for what they could get — usually little enough 
 — the boat w^as abandoned, or sold for firewood, 
 and the boatmen had the frolic of walking 
 back home, unless any of them should prefer to 
 lay out his share of the profits in a Choctaw 
 pony. Though such trips brought very little 
 money into the country, yet it was a favorite 
 adventure with the bold young backwoodsmen 
 of that day, and they seldom failed to come 
 back several inches taller than they went. 
 Louisiana was a foreign country, and a trip to 
 New Orleans then answered in place of a "tour 
 through Europe," now so fashionable among 
 young gentlemen. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 281 
 
 Dry goods, so far as there were any consumed, 
 except those manufactured in families, were 
 brought from Baltimore and Philadelphia, in 
 wagons, either all the way, or to Pittsburgh, and 
 then by water down the Ohio and up the Ten- 
 nessee and Cumberland. In those days a girl 
 who could get a calico dress for her wedding 
 was at least as fine as her neighbors, and there- 
 fore well satisfied. The small quantity of gro- 
 ceries used in the country were mostly brought 
 up the Mississippi in keel-boats, a kind of river 
 craft that could be propelled up stream more 
 easily than the flat-bottoms. A pound of coffee 
 could generally be had for about the price of a 
 barrel of corn, and other imported groceries in 
 proportion. Whisky was made at home in the 
 greatest abundance, and it is not to be denied 
 that it was used with a corresponding liberality. 
 
 A few mechanics had, by this time, found 
 their way into Tennessee, but in very few places 
 could any of them find constant employment in 
 their trades. They usually made crops, and 
 worked at their special business occasionally 
 according to the demand. Blacksmiths came 
 first, because most wanted. Kough carpenters 
 and shoe-makers followed, but there was no call 
 for brick-layers, stone-masons, painters, and the 
 
282 OLD times; or, 
 
 many other workmen who now find reguhir and 
 profitable emploj^ment throughout the hmd. 
 If there was a tailor in all Tennessee, he no 
 doubt had ample leisure for bee-hunting. Hat- 
 ters and saddlers could do a better business. 
 A few water-mills for grinding corn, some iron- 
 works on a small scale, and two or three small 
 manufactories of gunpowder, will perhaps com- 
 plete the list of such improvements, as matters 
 were in 1796. 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 283 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SOCIAL INTERCOUESE AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 At the present time, Tennessee is among the 
 foremost States of the Union in the production 
 of Indian corn; but sixty years ago, it was 
 much easier to raise large crops of that grain 
 than it is now. The soil was more fertile, and 
 required less work than farmers are now accus- 
 tomed to bestow on it. The working season 
 lasted about two months, and the crop could be 
 gathered at any time from October to April. 
 As scarcely any other kind of crop was, or 
 could be, cultivated, the consequence was that 
 the men were afflicted with a great deal of leis- 
 ure, which they endeavored to relieve by a 
 variety of occupations and amusements. As in 
 all similar cases, while some of these were 
 equally innocent and manly, some others were 
 less to be commended. 
 
 One characteristic of the times was a general 
 and promiscuous company-keeping. As every 
 
284 OLD times; or, 
 
 housekeeper had an abundance of all the coun- 
 try afforded, and the wealthiest could have no 
 more, this intercourse was upon a footing of 
 free and easy equality. Everybody and his 
 horse were welcomed to everybody's table and 
 corn-crib. The expense of keeping horses was 
 too slight to be regarded, and perhaps there 
 never Avas a time or a country in wdiich so 
 much riding on horseback w^as done, by male 
 and female, old and young. AYhatever finery 
 a gallant of the period could afford, was shown 
 in the trappings of his saddle-horse — in his 
 saddle, bridle, and martingale. The other sex 
 was not behind in this particular, and a back- 
 woods girl expected to be admired and courted 
 only when seated with firmness and grace upon 
 a well-dressed charger. 
 
 This was all as it should be; but quarter- 
 racing and horse-swapping are to be less ap- 
 proved. In every neighborhood, where there 
 was clear space enough for a quarter-track, the 
 youngsters were often assembled to try the 
 speed of their nags. This frequently led to 
 bets, and to gambling in other modes, and, with 
 the help of whisky, to quarrels and fights. As 
 these meetings were never attended by women,- 
 they Avere always inclined to become scenes of 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 285 
 
 unchecked rowdyism, from which none returned 
 with improved morals or manners. As to 
 swapping horses, it was for a long time almost 
 a mania in Tennessee, and the jockeys of this 
 State were j^erhaps never matched for skill and 
 management, except when they encountered a 
 Kentuckian. It was frequently pursued, as 
 men play games, merely for excitement. 
 
 A less exceptionable mode of spending time 
 was in match-hunts. The young men, and 
 sometimes old ones, of a neighborhood, would 
 divide themselves into two parties, and hunt 
 for several days. The scalps of the game 
 killed — squirrels, hawks, crows, etc. — were to 
 be produced and counted, at a time and place 
 agreed upon, and generally with the under- 
 standing that the beaten party should pay the 
 expense of a barbecue, to which everybody was 
 invited. These hunting-matches were not only 
 useful in destroying animals that were doing 
 great damage to the corn-fields and poultry- 
 yards, but were occasions of much^social enjoy- 
 ment and innocent mirth. Stories are told 
 about the number of scalps sometimes taken in 
 these hunts, that would hardly be believed by 
 a boy of the present day, who thinks he has 
 done pretty well if he has brought down one 
 
286 OLD times; or, 
 
 squirrel and two woodpeckers in a day's ramble 
 with his gun. 
 
 But all this did not satfsfy the social spirit 
 of the people. House -raisings, log-rollings, 
 and corn-shuckings drew together all the 
 dw^ellers within five miles. When a cabin 
 was to be put up, whether for a dwelling, or a 
 kitchen, or a barn, not only men enough to do 
 the work, but all the families around were 
 called in. While the men were employed upon 
 the house, the women and girls generally had a 
 quilt on hand, and w4ien both jobs were done, 
 the evening was usually closed with a merry 
 dance. But how could so many be entertained 
 in a small cabin? Well, if only the women 
 could find shelter in it, the hearty and robust 
 backwoodsmen knew very well how to make 
 themselves comfortable around a log-fire in the 
 yard. 
 
 In the fall season, or early winter, wdien the 
 corn had been brought into a heap near the 
 house, the n^n of the neighborhood, black as 
 well as white, were summoned to a shucking 
 frolic, usually at night. A shucking was held 
 at nearly every house in succession, as each 
 farmer happened to get his pile ready. To the 
 negro especially these were the most joyful and 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 287 
 
 exhilarating occasions of his life, hardly ex- 
 cepting Christmas ; and at the corn-pile he was 
 allowed to display his antics with freedom, to 
 the great amusement of the white men. They 
 still delight to chant the corn-song, which had 
 its origin in those scenes of merry labor, which 
 have now nearly passed away, with other cus- 
 toms of the olden time. Similar to the shuck- 
 ing frolic w^as the log-rolling, except that it 
 had in it much more of hard labor. 
 
 In these days farmers in Tennessee are very 
 careful to save their trees, all of them being 
 needed for fencing and firewood; but sixty 
 years ago; the great object was to get clear of 
 the timber, and to have land enough ready for 
 the plow. In this war of extermination against 
 the forest, the agency of fire was employed to 
 assist the ax in the work of destruction. During 
 the winter months, every settler was busy in 
 felling trees, and cutting up the trunks into 
 manageable lengths, and in the early spring 
 the rolling took place. It was an operation 
 that required considerable force and more hands 
 than were usually to be found in any one family. 
 It was therefore customary for neighbors to help 
 each other in the work of getting the logs into 
 huge heaps, which were afterward fired and 
 
288 OLD TIMES ; OR, 
 
 burnt, during the dry and windy days of March 
 and April 
 
 In the early settlement of Tennessee, very 
 few of the settlers were in circumstances to 
 manage these matters — of raising houses and 
 rolling logs — without calling in the help of 
 neighhors. But the custom continued to pre- 
 vail long after the necessity which first pro- 
 duced it had passed away. In despite of the 
 hard work to be done, they were always occa- 
 sions of mirth and festivity, and kept alive 
 feelings of sympathy and neighborly kindness 
 among the people. The man who had his corn 
 shucked, or his house raised, or his logs rolled, 
 without asking his neighbors to help, and help- 
 ing them in turn, was regarded as a selfish and 
 unsocial fellow, who cared for none but himself. 
 These old customs still linger in some newly 
 settled parts of West Tennessee, but elsewhere 
 the altered condition of the country has caused 
 them mostlv to be disused. 
 
TENNESSEE UTSTORY. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS 
 IN 1796. 
 
 In the course of this history, we have noticed 
 the establishment of one or more colleges by 
 authority of the General Assembly of Tennessee ; 
 but our young readers must not be misled ]:)y 
 names. All the appointments of the best col- 
 lege then actually established would hardly be 
 considered sufficient for a country academy of 
 the present day. Log houses with, or perhaps 
 without, glass windows, with benches and desks 
 roughly made of puncheons, furnished accom- 
 modation to the sophomores and seniors of the 
 olden time. A few copies of the Latin and 
 Greek classics, with a scanty supply of tattered 
 grammars and dog-eared dictionaries, consti- 
 tuted the college library. A surveyor's compass 
 and chain was probably the sum total of math- 
 ematical apparatus, and a few Indian arrow- 
 heads in the pockets of the students might 
 furnisli the geological cabinet. 
 10 
 
290 OLD times; or, 
 
 If sucli were the chartered colleges, it is not 
 difficult to infer the character of the common 
 schools, scattered here and there throughout 
 the settlements. Even to this day people have 
 not generally learned the importance of a com- 
 fortable building to accommodate a school of 
 whatever grade. Then when the wealthiest of 
 the population lived in ru'de cabins, it need not 
 to be told that our grandfathers and grandmoth- 
 ers in Tennessee did not learn to spell from 
 "a-b — ab to crucifix," and "cipher to the rule 
 of three," amidst the appliances of a palatial 
 structure. As is mostly the case even now, the 
 school-room and its furniture v»'ere just a little 
 inferior to the. accommodations which the pupils 
 enjoyed in their own homes. These things, 
 however, were hardly worse in Tennessee than 
 in the old States of North Carolina and Vir- 
 ginia, w^here an "old-field school-house" has 
 ever presented the image of all discomfort. 
 
 Such being the description of buildings for 
 school purposes, we are led to inquire as to the 
 character and qualifications of the teachers. 
 And we are inclined to think, from all we can 
 learn upon this jDoint, that generally they did 
 not deserve, and could not have used to good 
 purpose, any better accommodations than they 
 
TENN|:SSEE HISTORY. 291 
 
 had. A few exceptions there doubtless were — 
 men of solid learning and aptness to teach ; but 
 the great majority of them were not teachers, but 
 mere school-keepers — men who took to the calling 
 because they were too lame or too lazy to work. 
 Such men were overpaid with a salary of sixty 
 dollars a year, which was then about the ave- 
 rage income of ordinary schools. 
 
 Do our young readers ask how it was possible 
 for boys and girls to be educated by such men 
 under such circumstances? Well, the truth is, 
 that very many of them did not get learning 
 enough to read a newspaper, if such a thing 
 had been in their way : a few acquired enough 
 to transact common business; and still fewer 
 became fitted for eminent positions in Church 
 and State. These last educated themselves, with 
 the very little help derived from their school- 
 masters. And we desire here solemnly to im- 
 press it upon every boy and girl that reads this 
 book, that if they would be well educated, they 
 must do the work themselves. The best teachers 
 and the best books, with all the facilities of the 
 best-managed schools, can only help them in 
 the work. They must depend upon nothing 
 but their own voluntary and independent labor. 
 
 The best educated men, and therefore the best 
 
292,^ OLD times; or, 
 
 teachers, in the early times of Tennessee, were 
 mostly ministers of the Presbyterian Church. 
 This was simply because that Church alone, of 
 all then in Tennessee, had always required 
 its ministers to have a liberal, or at least a clas- 
 sical, education. Nearly all of them, at that 
 day, were graduates of Princeton College, in 
 New Jersey. This flistinction, how^ever, in favor 
 of Presbyterians has long since disappeared, 
 there being now as much intellectual culture 
 and scholarship among the ministry of other 
 denominations as among them. Perhaps, how- 
 ever, other denominations have not adopted any 
 precise rule upon that point, but among them 
 much is allowed on the score of "gifts and 
 graces," apart from mere scholastic training. 
 
 Enough has been said in the foregoing his- 
 tory to show that the emigrants from the old 
 States did not leave their Christianity behind 
 them. The prevailing denominations were the 
 Presbyterians chiefly among the Scotch-Irish 
 portion of the population, and the Baptists and 
 Methodists among the rest of the settlers. 
 There Avas, indeed, little of the machinery and 
 external pomp of ^vorship — no resounding or- 
 gans, nor cultivated choir-singers, to raise the 
 raptures of a fastidious audience reclining on 
 
TENNESSEE HISTORY. 293 
 
 cushioned pew-seats. But we are not to su}> 
 pose, from the absence of these, that reverence, 
 and piety, and fervent trust in God, were absent 
 from the hearts of the people. On the con- 
 trary, it is reasonable to suppose that the 
 circumstances of privation, hardship, and dan- 
 ger to wdiich they were constantly exposed, had 
 a mighty influence in imparting a deep sincerity 
 and pathos to all religious feelings. 
 
 We cannot forbear to notice here one very 
 peculiar religious institution, or rather mode of 
 worship, which sprung up among the western 
 settlers, though a few years later than the period 
 to wdiicli our' history reaches. We mean camp- 
 meetings, which had their origin in the want of 
 proper buildings for religious assemblies, and 
 the difficulty of getting together a congregation 
 in the ordinary way, owing to the scattered 
 state of the population. Like most other things, 
 camp-meetings have continued long after the 
 circumstances which produced them have ceased 
 to exist, and altogether have played a most 
 important part in the history of Christian 
 influence in Tennessee. Like the primeval 
 forest, in the bosom of which the early meetings 
 were held, they are now fast disappearing. 
 
 Our task is now finished, and our readers are 
 
294 TENNESSEE HISTORY. 
 
 at the last page of this little book. In it we 
 have endeavored to present a faithful picture 
 of old times in Tennessee, and a true account 
 of the character, feelings, and conduct of the 
 "brave and true" men and women, who laid 
 the foundation of society and government in 
 our glorious State. .Since the year 1796, two 
 generations of men have passed, and probably 
 not a man is now living who followed the 
 banner of "Nolichucky Jack" in the Indian 
 wars. In a few years the boys and girls, who 
 have been our companions through this history, 
 will have the character and destiny of Ten- 
 nessee in their keeping. We bid them farewell, 
 in the hope that, like their forefathers, they 
 may prove themselves "true and brave" — the 
 guardians and defenders of the rich blessings 
 they have inherited. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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