ae < CO mm ^ jo^' i)i i v>;lOSAN' ^/SaiAIN o ^ .^^ -^^ ^-^/smwi 0%^ !4|r. cr !iJ 1 1 I CI! 5^ 3^Ji i oa — Titt 5 3> so ■< »\ ' f t 1. 1 r* ■•'''■, r . %JI1V3J0'^ ir ^.OfCAllF0% ^- \WE UNIVERS/;^ ■^^ >- i::^ us (" I? i5 •:ED2ii^E isa])©:Eifi'^ siji^^:s.a Copyiighl secured A HISTORY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY. BY MANN BUTLER, A. M. LOUISVILLE, KY.: PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY WILCOX, DICKERMAN & CO. PRINTED BY J. A. JAMES, CINCINNATI. 18 34. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1834, by MANN BUTLER, A. M., in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Kentucky. Stereotyped by J. A. James, Cincinnati. DEDICATION, TO GENERAL WILLIAM CLARK, OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI. Sir: Among the numerous friends whom the undertaking of the History of Kentucky has procured for me, I know of no one who has conferred such signal obligations upon me, as yourself. The papers of your illustrious brother, George Rogers Clark, so liberally placed by you in my hands, have shed most curious and interesting lights upon the affairs of the western country; and particularly of Kentucky. These could have been procured from no other source. To whom then, can I so well dedicate this History, as to your- self, who have so faithfully preserved some of the most precious memorials of our history, and have so kindly contributed them for the public information! Were this not the case, who is so properly the representative of the pre-eminent founder of Kentucky, and the successful negotiator for its Virginia ac- knowledgement, as his only surviving brother] After yourself, allow me to associate your ancient friend in arms, General William H. Harrison, as one to whom the author is next most deeply indebted, for interesting illustrations of the early military movements of your common commander. General Wayne, as well as for the elucidation of some of the obscure vicissitudes of Indian history. Be pleased then, to accept this dedication of this work, as a testimonial of my high and unfeigned sense of the obligations conferred upon the great community of the west, much more than on my humble self, in your generous co-operation with my' historical labors. In the interim I have the honor to remain Your obliged friend, MANN BUTLER. iWticol »: CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Earliest condition of Kentucky— Iroquois, or Jlohawks, known in 1603— Early seats- Progress to the Mississippi and tiie Illinois— Appeal to the Colonial Commissioners- General Riaridock's talk— Treaties with the Enslish— Great treaty of 1768— OpmJon of Supreme Court on Indian title— Opinions of General Harrison— Treaties of 1//4— 1775—1785—1795 and 1819. [page 1. CHAPTER II. Policv of tiie British Government— Prociamation of 17C3— Violations of it— Visit of Dr. Walker in 1747— Xanie the Shawanee river, CumlK.'rland— Visit of John Finley— of Daniel Koone— Long hunters— Visit of Capt. Thomas Bullitt and JIcAfees— Surveys of Louisville— Simon Keulon— Burning of Hendricks— Adventures of the McAfees— JaoiPS Harrod settles Karrodsburg— Battle of Point Pleasant— Treaty of 1774— Treaty of 1775 — Settlement of Booneshorouch and St. Asaphs — ^Indian jliethod Of sieie. [page 17. CHAPTER III. First visit of Clark to Kentucky— Visits Harrodsiown — Cliosen a delegate to the Vir- [jiiiia Lesislature with Galiriel John Jones — Calls on Governor Henry — Receives gunpowder for Kentucky — Procures the creation of Kentucky county — Brings gun powder from Fort Pitt — Conceals it on the tanks of Limestone creek — Blackf.sh attacks Harrodstown — Singular escape of Kay — Plans approved hy Governor end Council — Spies in Illinois— Arrives at the Falls of Ohio— Eclipse of "the Sun— Passes the Fails — Reaches Kaskaskia — Surprises the 'own — Takes Cahokia. [page 35. CHAPTER IV. Plan azainst St. Vincents — ^Thanks of ^'irginia — St. Vincents revolts from the British- er. Girault — Illinois county — Negotiations with Sew Orleans— Indian negotiations. [page 58. CHAPTER V. Recapture of St. Vincents hy tl;e Eriti^^l;— Plans aaainst -Americans— French volunteers — J'arch to St. Vinjeuts— -Capture—- Return to Kaskaskia. [page 79. CHAPTER VI. First Court of Kentucky—Its ofncers — First Colonel—Siege of St. Asapbs, or Loran's Station— -British Proclamations—Capture of Boone -Siege of Eoonesborough— -Land Law— Its Commissioners. [page S8. CHAPTER VII. Coloiel David Rogers' Exje'^ition to .New OrieaT^s— Defeat—Captain Eenham -Colonel Bowman's Expedition: -Colonel Pyrd's E.ypialition up Licking— General George Ro- cers Clark's inarch from Fort JeSersor.-— .^huis up the Land office at Kanodsbura — Erpodition against Pickaway. [pa.?e 1C2. CHAPTER VIII. Kentucky county divided into Lincoln. Fayeuc and Jtilerson— -Erection cf Fort Jeffer- son on the Mississinpi— Spanish and Fien-li inlrigue."? at Paris against thewcsteni hoinuia'-v of the United SMtes— -McKpc and Girty— -Vltack on Bryant's Station -Battle of tlie F'lio Licks- -Ex|)C(iition of General Clark to the Cliilicothcs in 17P-2— -Early manners and state of the nrif in Kentucky. [page 116. CHAPTER IX. Land Titiej— Attempts tn sever Kentucky from the United States— -John Jay resists tiieni— Supreme District Court cstaWishcd— -James Wilkinson-— Commerciai Associa lion in Philadelphia--Scttlenieiit of Washiufflon. in Mason county—Indian ricprcrla tlons --Fir.'=t Convciiti.m— Vjr\ - rcnce, above Quebec, and on both sides of the lakes Ontario. -» Prfsent state of North America, nolsliy, 17,"(."i, p. 14, 18, '20. Comnmnicatod !>y tlii; politencsfi of Isaac Ncwiiall, Esq. of Salem, .Matsarhuictts, from the Historical Roon,* in that City, derived from Coldcn'i Five Nations, and confinued by thie btter work. A il nisTOEv OP KEN'xrcEir, Erie and Huron. In this career of conquest, with a magnanimity and s^agacious spirit worthy of the ancient Romans, and supe- rior to all their cotemporary tribes, they successively incor- porated the victims of their arms, with their own confederacy. Under this comprehensive policy, some of their greatest sachems are said to have sprung from conquered but concilia- ted confederates. In 1672 these tribes are represented as having conquered the Oillinois cr Illinois residing en the Illmois river; and they are likevv'ise at the same time, said to have conquered and incorporated the Satanas, the Chawanons or Shawanons, whom they had forinerly driven from the la.kes. To these conquests, they are said by the same high authority, to have added in iGS5,that; of the Twightwces, as they are called in the Journal of Major Washington to Gov. Dinv.iddie, of Virginia. These tribes, are at this day, more generally known as the Miamis, and they lived on the river St. Jerome, as the Wabash was first called l)y the French. About the same time, the Mohawks carried their victorious "arms to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers west- v/ard, and to Georgia southward." *About 1711, they incor- porated the Tiiscaroras, v>iicn driven from Carolina, and they continue at this day, to constitute a part of this once memora- ble confederacy; forming the sixth nation, and thus changing the name of their union, from the Five Nations to that of the Six. The rifc and progress of these most remarkable tribes, have worthily employed tlic pens of several historians, both French and English; they have even seduced the mind of Dc Witt Clinton, from the cares of the great State of New York, to investiga'.e the history of her most ancient and faithful allies. To this summary, other authorities may well be added, on a point, so vital to tlie early, history of Kentucky, and of Western America. This becomes more necessary, since the connection of these tribes with the history of Kentucky, has escaped the notice of all our recent writers. Even the emi- nent biographer of our illustrious Washington, .=ccms to havt neglected these annals, in their relations to our colonial history. ♦TLUcI.cr's Lives of Ihe Indians, p. 39. HISTORY OP KEXTrCKY. 3 Yet-, it could not be from any dubious or unimportant charactei-, which attaches to them, since they are derived from the highest colonial authorities and embrace the treaty history oi' Western America. The tribes in question, says Governor Pownal in his "Administration of the British Colonies," about 1664, carried their arms, as far south as Carolina, and as far west as the Mississippi, over a vast country, which extended twelve hundred miles in length, and about six hundred in breadth; where they destroyed whole nations, of whom there are no accounts remaining among the English. "The rights of these tribes," says the same respectable authority, "to the hunting lands of Ohio, (meaning the river of that name) may be fairly proved by the conquest they made in subduing the Shavanocs, Delawares, Twictwees, and Oillinois, as they stood possessed thereof, at the peace of Ryswick in IGQiy In further confirmation of this Indian title, it must be mentioned, that Lewis Evans, a gentleman whom Dr. Franklin compli- ments, as possessed "of great American knowledge," repre- sents in his m^p of the middle colonies of Great Britain on this continent, the country on the south-easterly side of the Ohio river, as the hunting lands of the Six Nations. In his analysis to his map, he expressly says, * "that the Shawanese who were formerly one of the most considerable nations of these parts of America, whose seat extended from Kentucke, soutb-westward to the Mississippi, have been subdued by the confederates, (or Six Nations) and the country since become their property," This chain of testimony is corroborated by the statements of the Six Nations to the commissioners of the provinces of Penn- sylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, at an Indian council held v/ith them in 1744. When at this meeting, the Indian Chiefs were called upon by the colonial commissioners "to tell what nations of Indians they had conquered lands from in Virginia, and to receive satisfaction for such lands, as thev had a ri^ht to;" they are said by Dr. Franklint to have made this reply: * Franklin's Works, vol. 4. f Franklin's Works, vol. 4, 271. Oliscrvations on the con- lucl of the French, dedicated to Win. Shirley, Gov. Boston, 1753; p. 4. 4 HISTOKY aV KENTUCKY. "All the world knows-, that W6 conquered the several nationis Jiving on the Susquehannah, Cohongoranto (now Potomack) and back of the Great Mountains in Virginia j" "we conquered the nations residing there, and that land, if the Virginians ever get a good right to it, it must be by us." These tribes had previously, as early as 1701, placed themselves under the protection and government of Great Britain. In their deed, or treaty of the 4th of September, 1726^ they confirmed this disposition of their country. Calculating implicitly on this acknowledgment, General Braddock, when^ in 1755, he came over to command one of the military expe- ditions, directed against the French intruders upon the very <)hio lands in question, issued suitable instructions to Sir William Johnson. This gentleman was the celebrated Indian. Agent of the British government, among the Mohawks. By these directions he was required to call the Five Nations together, to lay before them the above grant to the King in 1726; by which they had placed all their hunting lands under his Majesty's protection, to be "guarantied to them and to their vseP The general then, after alleging the invasion of the French, and their erecting forts upon these lands, "contrary to the said deed and treaties; calls upon them in his name, to take up the hatchet, and come and take possession of their own lands^ These Indian claims are solemnly appealed to in a diplomatic memorial, addressed by the British ministry to the Duke Mirepoix, on the part of France, on the 7th June, 1755. *"It is a certain truth," this memorial states, "that they" (mean- ing the countries possessed by the Five Nations) "have be- longed, and as they have not been given up, or made over to- the Engli.sh, belong still to the same Indian nations." The (.(Mirt of Great Britain maintained in this ncgociation, ] "that the Five Nations were by origin, or by right of conquest, the lawful proprietors of the river Ohio, and the territory in ques- tion." In pursuance of this ancient aboriginal title, the author may not omit the testimony of Dr. Mitchell, who, at the solici- *FrankIin'a Worku, ante. flJcm. JStatc Pap':r8, vol. x. 15. HISTORY OP KENTUCKY. 5 tatkm of the British Board of Trade and Plantations, published a Map of North America, and was furnished for this purpose, with documents from the Colonial Office. In this map, the same which the elder Adams mentions,* as the one by which the boundaries in the treaty of Paris of 1783, were adjusted; the Doctor observes, "that the Six Nations have extended their territories ever since the year 1672, when they subdued, and were incorporated with, the ancient Shawanese, the native pro- prietors of these countries. Besides which, they likewise claim a right of conquest over the Illinois and all the Missis- sippi, as far as they extend." This, he adds, "is confirmed by their own claims and possessions in 1742, which include all the bounds here laid down (meaning on his map,) and none have ever thought fit to dispute them." Such faith did the British go- vernment and their agent. Sir William Johnson, repose in this Indian title, that in October, 17G8, agreeably to ministerial instructions solicited by Pennsylvania, "through Dr. Franklin, it was purchased of its holders, the Six Nations, for £10,400 7s. 6d. sterling. This Indian treaty was held at Fort Staawix, afterwards denominated Fort Schuyler, and now included in the township of Rome, on the Erie canal, in the state of New York. At this meeting, so memorable in the annais of the west, the Six Nations declared to the agent, eminent for his knowledge of Indian concerns, that "you who know all our aflairs, must be sensible, that our rights go much further to the south than the Kcnhawa, and that we have a very good and clear title, as far south as the Cherokee river, which we cannot: allow to be the right of any other Indians, without doing wrong to our posterity, and acting unworthy of those warriors who fought and conquered it; we therefore, expect this our vight, will be considered." In 1781, f Colonel Croghan who, for thirty years had been deputy superintendent among the Six Nations, deposed, "that these Indians claimed by right of ecu- quest, all the lands on the south-east side o*" the Ohio, to the Cherokee river, and on the west side, down to the Big ^liami. otherwise called Stony river." This title, as has been mcn- *Statc Papeis, vo!.x,I3. tHaywood's Tennessee, p. 322. A* " HKTOKY OF XEJVTPcKf. tioncd, was alienated to the British Cro.vn in the treaty to which reference has just been had. The Cherokee river mentioned in this cession, was also called the Hogotege* in the treaty, and is now known as the Tennessee river. The first of these names is used convertibly with Tennessee, by the legislature of Virginia in their resolutions of 1778, "and again in the celebrated land law of 1779, as well as in Filson's To- pography of Kentucky, compiled in 1784. It is hoped that be- Ibre the termination of (his history, some more minute account of this remarkable treaty may be obtained from the enquiries, so courteously promoted by Governor Breathitt of Kentucky, and addressed to the government of our parent State. Yet the hope is but faint, unless the enquiry shall be pursued i'» the Colonial Office in London, since, on application of secreta- ry Jefferson, in 1793, to Governor Clinton of New York, for copies of all Indian treaties r.egociated during the colonial government; it was replied, that on the rupture of the revolu- tion, the British Superintendent for Indian affairs, had taken, away all the papers belonging to his department. Thus far the aboriginal title to Kentucky has been traced to its transfer to the British crown ; and although, as a matter of convention, and a question of treaty obligation, it seems well founded; yet it is not quite conclusive against the tribes west of the Six Nations. In the fluctuations so peculiarly inci- dent to savage society, one tribe successively succeeds to the do- minion, and the rights of its feebler neighbour; and in the weak- ness consequent upon the approach of the dense population of i:''ricultural society, while one nation fades before the white man, another formerly tributary, resumes the paramount au- ihori^N', which had been lost by its conqierors. In this manner, the north-western tribes, who seem to have been conquered by the Mohawks in ancient times, appear to have succeeded to the rlgU;s of their conquerors, when their former masters had lost the predominancy, which they certainly pcsscssed during U)c war of 1755. Since our countrymen have been particularly ccquain!ed with the north-wcs'ern Indians and have under- *IIaywocd'i History of Tcunc-asoc, 031-2. JHcnniii:;'* S'.aturcsat larje, 3, 1779. HISTORY OF KENTCCKY. » stood their titles and fluctuating dominions, the Miami confede- racy, or as they designated it, the Mi-a-mi-ah, have occupied the country between the Ohio, the lakes and the Mississippi, as far east as the Scioto. General Harrison, to whose curious inquiries the country is particularly indebted for information on this subject, gives this account in his valuable letter to Sec- retary Armstrong, in 1814. *"They (meaning the Miamis) have no tradition of removing from any other quarter of the country; whereas all the neighboring tribes, the Piankishaws excepted, who are a branch of the Miamies, are either intru- ders upon them, or have been permitted to settle in their coun- try." "The claims of the Miamies were bounded on the north and west by those of the Illinois confederacy, consisting originally of five tribes, called Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Peo- rians, Michiganians, and Temarois, speaking the Miami lan- guage, and no doubt, branches of that nation." In the above war between France and Great Britain,! the Indians inhabiting the countries between the rivers Mississippi, Ohio and Miami, were known by the name of the Western Con- federacy, and were the allies of the former; while the Six Nations were attached to the latter, and were denominated the Northern Confederacy. JOn the termination of this war, tlie Kaskaskias, under the mediation of the British govemmen , iurmed a treaty of peace with tlte Iroquois. The former tribe, including the tribes between the Wabash and the Mississippi, had previously separated from the rest of the confederacy; for indeed the nature of Indian society, forbids the continuance of any large population together; and hcn?e its endless rami- fication. The Illinois tribes had been driven from their po.'-- .^cssions on Lake Michigan, and had been nearly extirpated by the Sacs or Saukics, before the close of our revolutionary war. But all the traditional accounts of the north-western Indian.e, represent tlie country now composing the S:atc of Indiana and that of Ohio west of the Scioto, to have been occupied by the Miami confederacy. The occupation of the country en the ♦McAfee's History, p. 43. tWlieaton's Usports, Juhnson asainst McIntOi!). J Ccn. EairicOi."* jlfit'.e: to thcAuihor. 8 HISTORY OF KESrruCKY. Scioto and the Miamis of the Ohio by the Delawares and Shawnees, was on the same authority, of more recent date, and by the permission of the Miamis. The Wyandots were the most easterly of these nations, and had long before th-e revo- lutionary war, carried on hostilities w ith the Mohawks. One battle fought in canoes near Long Point, on Lake Erie, was so fatal to the Wyandots, as to have compelled the remnant of their tribe to remove to Lake Michigan. The precise date of these events, cannot now be ascertained ; but sometime before the close of the revolution, the Wyandots were found in their ancient seats about Sandusky river. Their numbers were not formidable, but their character for valor was so distinguished, that they obtained the custody of the great calumet, which was the emblem of the confederacy of nine tribes, formed by British influence against the United States, and terminated only by the victory of Wayne, at the rapid&of the Maumee in 1794. The return of this tribe, was in all probability, the result of British mediation, after their conquest of Canada. The Senecas, the most western of the Six Nations, had, at one time, extended themselves as far as the Sandusky river, and possessed a town upon it, which bore their name.* This is the farthest western settlement of the Six Nations known, independent of the ac- counts of the colonial writers, which have been quoted; now had they conquered the Wyandots, still this trfbe have not been discovered to have had any pretensions to Kentucky, beyond the ether coterminous bands. Within the personal knowledge of our countrymen since the war of 1755, Kentucky has not been in the occupancy of any tribe. There are indeed through it, as all over the western country, indications of a race of people having existed, much more advanced in the arts, than the tribes known to us; but, whose history is but a tissue of I'aint and disjointed conjectures, like that of innumerable tribes all over the globe, who have been destitute of letters and the use of the metals. Without these foundations, civilization has neither fruits to record, nor instruments to perpetuate their memory. Our hunters from 1707 in their various pere- »Gcncral Harrison had his licad quarters at thid poiut duriu; the lata war. •fflSTORY OP KENTTTCKT. 9 Igrinations through the territory, since denominated Kentucky, met with no marks of a modern Indian town within the whole -extent of' the country. The villages of Indians known to have been nearest to Kentucky, were on the Scioto and the Miamis of the Ohio in the north, and on the waters of the Tennessee river in the south. From these points, the various war and hunting parties issued to engage in the one or the other pur- suit, as the passions, or the opportunities of their expeditions might lead. Here, the Chickasaws and Cherokees of the south, used to engage with various tribes of the Miami confederacy; here they indulged their passions for himting, in the profusion of -^me aflforded by Kentucky. So much was this ground ex- empt.cd from settleuiont, that on neither the Ohio nor the lower Tennessee, are any Indian towns known to have been settled. Yet no situations have generally delighted savage tribes so much, as the margins of water courses; the opportunities of navigation and of fishing, unite to attract them to such spots. Accordingly the banks of most of our western rivers, e.xcept- ing those of Kentucky, (although they abounded in game and in salt licks,) were found occupied by the native tribes of the forests. There is another circumstance suggested by Gen. Harrison, Avhich confirms the modern limitations of the Six Nations, whatever may have been their ancient ascendency. The chief «eat of the Miamis was the scite of Fort Wayne, between the St. Joseph's and the St. Mary's. Had the Six Nations achieved any great recent success over the Miamis, they would in all probability, have forced them from this fiivorite spot, which is the key to the country below; and the defeated tribes would have been driven on their confederates upon the lower Wabash. This, however, was not their location. That long and obstinate wars subsisted between the Iroquois and their immediate western neighbors, about the middle of the last century, derives much probability from. another circum- stance. *The French for fifty years, used no route to their };'Os^Q!>sions on the Mississippi, but the circuitous one by lakes ♦Letter of Gen. Harrison. 10 HISTORY OP KE^'TIrCKY. Erie and Michigan, and the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. This distant embarrassed course of communication, could not have been resorted to, from their ignorance of the more direct route, by the Maumee and the Wabash. It is therefore to be pre- sumed, that the prevalence of wars between the adjacent tribes, prevented them from passing over this belligerent ground. It was not till about 1745, that Capt, De Vincennes accompanied by a Jesuit, accomplished the passage by this latter route. Some time before this period, the Wyandots probably returned: and peace having been made with the Six Nations, the country v/as opened to the enterprises of the French, as has been seen. No treaties made with the north-v/estern Indians directly, are known to exist in our imperfect colonial records, previous to the treaty of 1774, between Lord Dunmorc and the Shawanee?, if even this has been preserved. The nature of this treaty, the author has been unable to as- certain with any precision from any accessible records. Thero is a brief notice of its purport, in Burk's Virginia,* which represents, that peace was made by the royal governor with the Shawnees, on "condition that the lands on this side of th6 Ohio, should be forever ceded to the whites; that their pris- oners should be delivered up, and that four hostages should be immediately given for the faithful performance of these condi-> tions," Such a treaty appears at this day, to be utterly beyond the advantages which could have been claimed from Dunmore's expedition. The principal blow had been struck by the left wing of his army apart from him, at the bloody battle of Point Pleasant, in which, under Gen. Andrew Lewis, with the choicest spirits of the western backwoodsmen, the Indians fought v/ith an open resolution worthy of their highest military fame, although they retreated. Gov. Dunmorc crossed the Ohio seventy-five miles above the mouth of Kenhawa, and ordered Lewis to join him, at the Indian towns eighty miles from the river. Hero but little fighting is said to have taken place, when the Governor patched up a peace, which would have little deserved the suh- gequent suspicions evinced by the legislature of Virginia,t *3Fil3on'3 Kentucky, JT93. HISTORV OF KENTUCKY. 15 Such, however, as the title might be, it was purchased, and constituted into the colony of Transylvania, by Col. Henderson and his associates ; though subsequently invalidated as respected the grantees, by the government of Virginia. The claims of Col. Henderson & Co. were compromised, by a grant of 200,000 acres of land at the mouth of Green river by Virginia, anfl as much in Powell's Valley by North Carolina. It was at this treaty, that Daniel Boone was told by an old Indian, who had signed the treaty, taking him by the hand, ^•'brother," says he, "we have given you a line land, but I believe you will have much trouble in settling it;" v.ords, as events mournfully proved, of most ominous meaning. The troubles of Kentucky have been marked broad and deep in blood; and still deeper in the keen wounds of the heart, which often shew them- selves by that consuming grief, which withers up the sources of joy, and at length wears away its victim to the grave. Thus by fair and repeated treaties; first of 176S with the Six Nations, by which the Indian title to Kentucky, was extin- guished as far south as the Tennessee river; secondly, by the treaty with the Shawnees with Lord Dunmore, in 1774; thirdly, by the treaty with the Cherokees in 1775, in consideration of £10,000 sterling , their title was extinguished to that portion of Kentucky, between the river of that name and the Cumberland Mountains and Cumberland riverj also, by the treaty of Fort M'- Intosh*' in 1785; confirmed and enlarged by the treaty of Green- ville in 1795 ; and, lastly, by the treaty with the Chickasaws in 1818; all that part of Kentucky west of the Tennessee and south of the Ohio was acquired. Are not these documents rights and title deeds, which the people of Kentucky may proudly point out to the cavillers against her title? No private proprie- tor, no freeholder in the land, can exhibit a better connected chain of title to his possessions, than the state of Kentucky can shew to her domain. In this investigation, the author has not thought it within his province, to engage in metaphysical dis- cussions of natural right. He gladly prefers to such unsettled discussions, the authority and practical decisions of the govern- * On Uie Oliio river, near Big Beaver Creek. 16 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. ment and the high judicial tribunals of his country. Nor have the statesmen and jurists of :he United States differed from those of the great European powers on these high questions of social rights and political obligations between them and the Indian tribes on this continent. This relation is forcibly stated in the following extract from the negociations at Ghent on the part of the American Ministers.* "The Indians residing with- in the United States, are so far independent, that they live under their own customs, and not under the laws of the United States ; that their rights upon the lands where they inhabit, or hunt, are secured to them by boundaries defined in amicable treaties between the United States and themselves; and that wherever these boundaries are varied, it is also by amicable and voluntary treaties, by which they receive from the United States ample compensation for every right they have to the lands ceded to them. They are so far dependent as not to have the right to dispose of their lands to any private persons, nor to any power other than the United States, and to be under their protec- tion alone, and not under that of any other power," This sub- ject is further enlarged as follows: "the United States while intending never to acquire lands from the Indians otherwise than peaceably, and with their free consent, are fully determined in that manner, progressively, and in proportion as their growing population may require, to reclaim from a state of nature, and to bring into cultivation, every portion of the territory contain- ed within their acknowledged boundaries. In thus providing for the support of millions of civilized beings they will not vio- late any dictate of justice or humanity, fur they will not only give to the few thousand savages scattered over that territory, an ample equivalent for any right they may surrender, but will always leave them the possession of lands more than they can cultivate, and more than adequate to their subsistence, comfort and enjoyment by cultivation." But the author is not disposed in this deduction of title founded on solemn treaties, such as have from time immemorial governed the relations of political societies, to overlook the valour and • State Papers, vol. is. 396, 40C. HISTORY OP KENTUCKY. 17 enduring hardihood, by which the rights of Kentucky have been confirmed and sealed in the blood and by the arms of her sons. The rights of arms and of conquest arc parts of the law of na- tions; and the people of Kentucky, are entitled to their opera- tion as much as every other body politic. Such indeed, is the uncertain condition of even civilized society, that helpless arc the plainest rights of men, which are not supported and vindica- ted when necessary, by the courage and the manly firmness of their possessors. To the fruits of this courage and endurance of suffering in every appalling form, no portion of the western country has superior claim to that of Kentucky. She has been the nursing mother of the west, the blood of her children has flowed freely on every battle field; and now, let them and their posterity enjoy the honors so manfully won. CHAPTER II. Policy of the British Government— Proclamation 1763— Violations of it— Visit of L»r. Walker in 1747 — Names the Shawanee river Cuniberlaml — Visit of John Finley— ot Daniel Boone— Loiii; hunters— Visit of Capt. Thomas Bullitt and IMcAfecs— Surveys of Louisville— Simon Kenton— Burnin;: of Ilondrickf — Adventures of the McAfee*— James Harrod settles Harrodshurg— Battle of Point Pleasant— Treaty of 1774— Treaty of I77o— Settlement of Booneshorough and St. Asaphs — Indian method of siege. The British government seems to have suspected (he policy of extending her colonies freely, on this side of the Allcganies; though several large grants of land bad been made to different land companies.* The proclamation of tho King, however, in 1763, expressly prohibited the granting warrants of survey, or passing "patents for any lands beyond the heads or sources of any of the rivers, which fall into the Atlantic ocean from the west or north-west." But so irresistible is the love of adven- ture in the early state of society, so irrepressible is its fondness for new and unexplored scenes of enterprise, that as was once said in the Senate of the United States, "you might as well inhibit the fish from swimming down the western rivers to the sea, as to prohibit the people from sctding on the new lands.'' *4th vol. Franklin's Works; Ohio Settlement; Marshall's Colonial History, p. 281 B* 18 HISTORT OF KENTUCKV. The whole history of our country, and particularly of its wes- tern section, is an exemplification of this enterprising spirit: Nor could tenfold the energies of the British government have repressed this darling passion of society. Accordingly it was found seeking its gratification, by numerous pioneers, who sometimes singly, and at other times in parties, little stronger, considering the fearful odds of enemies and distance, opposed to them, engaged in exploring this new region of the West. No doubt the military conflicts of our countrymen with the French and Indians, in the war of '55; and the distinguished success with which it closed, must have brought many gallant spirits acquainted imperfectly, with the country on the lower Ohio; and as far as it was imperfect, so much more would their ar- dent imaginations enhance its interest, and would their curiosity be stimulated. Indeed, the actual occupation of the country acquired by the peace of 1763, obliged the British officers to pass through the Western Country to St. Vincents, as Vin- cennes was then called, to Kaskaskias and Cahokia. Previous to this time, as early as* 1747, Dr. Walker, of Vir- ginia "led an exploring party through the north-eastern portion of the state and gave the name of Cumberland, after the "Bloody Duke," of that name, to the present river, formerly called Shawanee river, and likewise Louisa, to the Big Sandy river on the east, a name now confined to one of its upper forks; but which was at first applied to the Kentucky.! This party, having unfortunately fallen upon the most mountainous portion of the State, did not effect much, in favor of Kentucky by their report. John Finley, of North-Carolina, and his com- panions, arc said by Daniel Boone, to have visited the country, in 17G7, without however leaving, it is believed, a trace of their expedition beyond their names; now so briefly, but unavoida- bly recorded. Two years after the return of Finley, Daniel Boone tells us in his meagre JNarrative, that "on the first of May, 1769, he left his peaceable habitation on the Yadkin Ri- ver, in North-Carolina," in quest of the country of Kentucky, »Dr. Walker so informed Jolin Brown, Esq. of Frankfort. tMc.\fec and Ray. jCoinposed by John Filson, from the dictaiion of Boone, in 1784. HISTORV OF KENTUCKY. 19 in company with John Finley, John Stewart and three others. To a philosophic observer in the ancient and ripened States of society, could any thing appear more forlorn and quixotic, than thus to abandon peaceable habitations in the very spring and ^ecd time of the year; to go in quest of a distant and unknown country, infested with wild beasts and enemies not less savage ; a region beset with every variety of difficulty and hardship ! Yet while these difficulties deter the quiet and industrious, they only stir the blood and string the nerves of the enterprising and the restless. Both characters have their appropriate periods and sphere of social utility. Our daring explorer continues; "we proceeded successfully, and after a long and fatiguing journey, through a mountainous wilderness in a western direction, on the 7th day of June follow- ing, we found ourselves on Red River the northernmost branch of the Kentucky river; where John Finley had formerly been trading with the Indians, and from the top of an eminence, we saw with pleasure, the beautiful level of Kentucky." Let us attend to the first recorded impressions, which, this new coun- try made upon its hardy and fearless explorers; "we found" says the narrative "every where abundance of wild beasts of all sorts through this vast forest." The buffaloes (or the bison of the naturalist) were more frequent than I have seen, says Boone, cattle in the settlements, browzing on the leaves, or cropping the herbage on these extensive plains." The party continued ''hunting with great success until the 22d of December follow- ing." Soon after this, John Stewart was killed, the first victim, as far as is known, in the hecatombs of white men, offered by the Indians to the god of battles, in their desperate and ruth- less contention for Kentucky. Our author or pamphleteer then says, tliat he and his brother Squire Boone, who had reached the country some time before in pursuit of his roving relative, continued during the winter undisturbed, until the first of May; when the former returned to the settlements, as the more dense- ly inhabited parts of the country were called. During this same year,* a party of about forty stout hunters, »Mar9lialI,2,9. 20 niSTOEY OP KENTUCKY. "from New River, Holston and Clinch" united in a hunting ex- pedition west of the Cumberland Mountains. Nine of this party led on by Col. James Knox reached Ken- tucky; and, from the time they were absent from home, they "obtained the name of the Long Hunters,'^'' This expedition reached "the country south of the Kentucky i-iver' and became acquainted with Green river, and the lower part of the Cumber- land. In addition to these parties, so naturally stimulated by the ardent curiosity incident to early and comparatively, idle so- ciety, the claimants of military bounty lands which had been obtained from the British crown, for services against the French, furnished a new and keen band of western explorers. Their land warrants were surveyed on the Kenhawa and the Ohio; though most positively against the very letter of the royal pro- clamation of '63. But at this distance from the royal court, it was nothing new in the history of government that edicts eman- ating, even from the King in council, should be but imperfectly regarded. However, this may be, land warrants were actually surveyed on the Kenhawa as early as 1772, and in 1773, seve- ral surveyors were deputed to lay out bounty lands on the Ohio river. Amongst others Thomas Bullitt, uncle to the late Alexander Scott Bullitt, first lieutenant governor of Kentucky; and Han- cock Taylor, engaged in this adventurous work. These gen- tlemen with their company were overtaken on the 28th of May, 1773, by the McAfees, whose exortious will hereafter occupy a conspicuous station in this narrative. On the 29th, the party in one boat and four canoes, reached the Ohio river, and elected Bullitt their captain. There is a romantic incident cunmore:" completing a tour of eight hundred miles through many difficulties, in sixty-eight days. As yet, no families had removed into this part of the country; but in the course of 1774, James liar rod, who had led a party from the country on the Monongahela, ascended the Kentucky river in canoes to Ilarrod's landing; and proceeding across the country, built the first log cabin in Kentucky, upon the present seat of Harrodsburg; hence, at that time, called Ilarrod's Town. This however was not occupied long, before HISTORY OF KEXTUCKV. 27 hostilities broke out \rith the Indians, and the battle of Point Pleasant was so obstinately fought at the mouth of the Ken- hawa, on the 10th of October in this year. This, with the operations of the right wing under Lord Dunmore in person, had completed the rupture, which compelled the early explorers to withdraw from Kentucky; and indeed attracted the greater part of them, including Boone, Harrod and the Shelbys, to engage in the left wing of the expedition. After the peace concluded by Lord Dunmore, afterwards so much suspected for its motives, Col. Richard Henderson and his associates pur- chased the title* which the Cherokees maintained to the coun- try, south of the Kentucky river. Boone was employed by this company of Indian purchasers, to mark a road through the southern wilderness, to the Kentucky river. Hitherto the access to the country had been by hunters' paths and butialo traces. "We proceeded," says the pioneer, "with all possible expedition, until we came within fifteen miles of where Boones- borough now stands, on the south side of the Kentucky river and in the present county of Madison. When the party of choppers and markers had reached this distance, they were fired upon by the Indians, who killed two men and wounded two others. Yet although surprised and taken at a disadvan- tage, we stood our ground." On the 23d March, the party was again attacked and lost two more men, and had three wounded : still, by the 1st April, they began to erect the tort, which was afterwards called Boonesborough. It was situated near a salt lick, about sixty yards from the Kentucky river, on the south side. Yet it is said to have been commanded from the cliffs on the opposite side of the river, whence a ball could reach the * In connection with this subject a vcnerahle friend has pointed out the following passage in Smollett's continuation of Hume's En!;l!ind. "In Great Britain, tliiti year, 1730, was not (listinjuished by any transaction of great nioinem. Seven cliiefs of t lie Cherokee Na- tions of Indians in America were brouijht to Eiiuland by Sir Alexander Cumin. Being introduced to the Kins, they laid their crown andrcsallaat his feet, and l)y an authentic deed acknowledsed themselves subjects to his dominion, in the name of all their com- patriots, who had vested them witli full powers for this purpose. Tliey were amazed and confounded at the riches and magnificence of the British Court; they compared the Kins and duecn to the Sun and Moon, the Princes to the Stars of Heaven, and themselves to nothing They gave their assent in tlie most solemn manner to articlesof friendship and commerce, proposed by the Lords Commissioners for trade and plantations; and lieing loaded with presents of necessaries, arms and amunition, were reconveyed to their own country, which borders on the Province of South Carolina." 2d vol. Smollett, -J!!.!. 2S HISTORY OF KEXTUCEV. fcrt. It was not until the 14th of June, 1775 that the first fort, of the white man was built, in Kentucky. Well might the Indians, could they have anticipated the faintest shadow of the ills in store for them, and their whole race, from this foothold of the white man ; have contested the fatal lodgment, with the last drop of their blood. The genius of their Pontiac, their Turtle and Tecumseh, did not display itself more gloriously at Detroit, against St. Clair, and on the Thames, than it might have done^ in preventing the white man from erecting his forts in the great hunting ground of their tribes. A fort in these rude miiitary times, consisted of pieces of tim- ber sharpened at the end and firmly lodged in the ground : rows of these pickets, enclosed the desired space, which embraced the cabins of the inhabitants. A block house or more, of supe- rior care and strength, commanding the sides of the fort, with or without a ditch, completed the fortifications, or stations as they were called. Generally the sides of the interior cabins formed the sides of the fort. Slight as this advance was, in the art of war, it was more than sufficient against attacks of small arms, in the hands of such desultory warriors, as their irregular supplies of provisions necessarily rendered the Indians. Such was the nature of the military structures of the pioneers against their enemies. They were ever more formidable in the cane brakes and in the woods, than before even these imperfect fortifications. About September, 1775, Hugh McGary, from the back woods of North Carolina, Richard Ilogan and Thomas Denlon, with their families, united to Daniel Boone and company, making, in the language of the times, twenty-seven guns; that is equiva- lent to twenty-seven fighting men. The party assembled in Poweir.s Valley, on the head of Ilolston river, after having waited three months, for the junction of Boone's company, and haying sent one John Ilarman before them, to rai.se a crop of corn at Ilarrodstown. This labor he performed, in a field at the east end of the present town, where John Thomp- son, Esq. now lives. It is proper to mention, that Boone had previous to this, on the 25th September, 1773, made an attempt niSTOBT OF KENTUCKY. 2U to move to Kentucky, "in company with five families and forty men that joined us in Powell's Valley," But on the 10th Oc- tober, Boone says, "the rear of our company was attacked by a number of Indians, who killed six men and wounded one.*' This severe repulse deterred the party from prosecuting their daring enterprise, until the time mentioned above. When McGary's party had arrived at the head of Dick's river, Boone, with twenty-one men, went to Boonesborough, and left his previous associates to find their way, as well as they could by his directions, through the pathless forest to Harrodstown. At the time of our narrative, there were but four cabins at this place, one of which was inhabited, and but five old soldiers in them, who had followed James Ilarrod from the Monongahela country. This distinguished explorer, had likev/ise settled a place known as Harrod's Station, about six miles east of Harrodsburg, on the present road to Danville. The families with McGary, having got bewildered, left the horses and cattle with James Ray, John Denton and John Hays, all boys, (the former, now General James Ray, but fif- teen years of age.) opposite to the mouth of Gilbert's creek, on the east side of Dicks river, while they attempted the route by themselves. McGary, finding no passage for the families at the mouth of Dick's river, on account of the lofty precipi- tous cliffs, went by himself to explore the way : by accident he fell on the path between Harrodsburg and Harrod's Station, and taking the eastern end, it brought him to the latter place, where he got Josiah Harlan of lamented memory, to pilot the families, as well as the tliree boys, into Harrodstown. Thus was formed the first domestic circle of Harrodsburg by Mrs. Denton, McGary and Hogan, with their families; where is now the resort of the gayest of the gay among the fashionables of the west. These younger woodsmen were not, however, re- lieved until three weeks had elapsed, instead of three days, as promised by McGary at first, when they were left on this forlorn hope. To add to their distress, they could not forget the fate of three boys, the eldest hopes of three families, who had been killed by the Indians in 1773, under very similar C* 30 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. circumstances; while left to collect some stray horses in Pow- ell's Valley, when moving with Boone to Kentucky. One. the eldest son of Boone, had been a playmate of James Ray in iVorth Carolina. During the winter of '75-G, was begun the fort of Harrodstown, of such enduring importance in the early difficulties of Kentucky. It was situated on the hill, now occupied by the seminary building, and included a consid- erable spring of water at its foot: it was not finished until the ensuing season. From this period may be dated the permanent settlement of Harrodsburg ; about the same time. Col. Benjamin Logan, of Virginia, established Logan's fort, about a mile west of the pre- sent town of Standford, in Lincoln county. The precise date of this establishment cannot be ascertained ; but Col. Floyd speaks* of its being known as a station or fortified settlement, in May, 1775. At this time, the title of Henderson & Co., seems to have been generally acknowledged by the settlers in the coun- try. Nor were their numbers so contemptible even at that early day ; they are computed by a close observer, to have amounted to three hundred; and to have had about two hundred and thirty acres under cultivation in corn. So perfect at first, was the ac- quiescence of the people in the title of the company mentioned above; that eighteen delegates assembled in convention at Boonesborough in the course of this year and after acknowl- edging Henderson & Co., as proprietors, ''established courts of justice, rules for proceeding therein, also a militia law, an at- tachment law, a law for preserving the game and for appoint- ing civil and military officers." Such was the incipient stage of this great commonwealth, under what may be called its proprie- tary government. So eager were settlers to embark under the title of this great land company; that by the 1st of December, 1775, 500,000 acres of land were entered, as it is presumed in their oflice. Deeds of great formality were issued by this com- pany calling themselves "proprietors of the Colony o{ Transyl- vania in America." By these deeds, the grantees under the • CorrcfipondenceofCol. J. Floyd, with Col. William Preston, p«litely communicated by Nalh. Hart, Esq. of Woodford county. HISTORY OF KENTfCKV. 31 company, bound themselves to pay them, "one moity or half part of all gold, silver, copper, lead or sulphur mines;" and, moreover, to pay the company a rent, as might be agreed on, "yearly and for every year." The penalty for not paying this rent was pro- vided by a covenant, "that if no sufficient distress can be found on the premises whereon it shall be lawful for the said Co., to levy such rent or arrears , with full costs, charges and expen- ses in making and levying the same, then this present grant and all assignments shall be void and of none effect. The company then reserved a right "to re-enter into the said lands and re-grant the same to any other person or persons whatsoever." Had this company retained its title, Kentucky, would within their jurisdiction or purchase, have been under a quit rent to those great proprietors forever. It is, however, much to be doubted, whether the high temper of the western people would have submitted to a state of things, which had been a constant source of heart burnings in the elder colonies. Sooner indeed than have been any thing less than fee simple or allodial pro- prietors, the hunters of the west, (had they not risen in arms,) would have abandoned the country, to these lords proprietors. Symptoms of the slight hold these terms had upon the hearts of the people, at the earliest manifestations of Indian hostilities, may be inferred from the fact; *that three hundred men are said to have left the country by July, 1776. Col. Clark intimates the same in his memoir. He remarks, that the company "took great pains to ingratiate themselves in the favor of the people; but too soon, for their own interest began to raise upon their lands, which caused many to complain." Some dissatisfaction of this sort, seems to have operated in producing the subsequent mission of Clark and Jones, to the government of Virginia, res- pecting the regulation and sale of the country'. At the same time, in justice to this great company, it must be observed, that it furnished, although for sale, all the supplies of gunpowder and lead with which the inhabitants defended themselves and their families. Indeed, the books of Henderson & Co. exhibit accounts for these articles with all the inhabi- » Correspondence of Col. Floyd 38 HISTOKT OF KID^TTCKT. taots of ^country, in the years 1775-6. while thev are cre- dited with Taiioas iterae, as cutting the road to Cantudcegj hunt- ing and raBgii^. The prices of articles in these accounts, afibtd some ouious con^iarisoiis with those of the present tunes. Poird«waschargedat$S66perpoaDd. andleadat 161 cenis: while hbam was credited at 33 c^ni^ or fifty centf per day. for laaging, hunting or woiking on road s . The^e accounts remain tmi flnap^t upon the books in every instance, shevring a con- dhioB of no little indebtedness f^ the colonists of Transylvania to the great propri^ors. About the 16th of July. 1776, it was discovered frMU the Migm, as Ae maiks of the enemy's presence were termed, that alaige body of Indans had come into the country with hostile mtOBtians; and, had aoondii^ to their mode of invasion dis- posed in smfaS bands infesting the stations, at the same time. A romantic instance o£ the insecurity of the times, and the ardent sympathy which knit the people to one another, is beau- tifiiDr e^thibited in die following narrative in the words of an actof.* HDnthe 7th t^" July 1776.rne Indians tot^ out of a canoe wfaidi was in the river, within sight o( BoMiesUmmgh, Miss Betsey OaDoway, her sis-.er F. i a daughter of Daniel Boone. The last two are about thineen or fourteen years of age and the odier grown. The aOair happened late in the af- temooa" and die spoilers *^left the canoe on the oppo&ie side of the rtrer firam us, which prevented our getting over for sMoe time to parsoe them. Next m:»^ing by ^ylight we were on die tradt; bat found they had totally prevented our following dKmby walking somedistance apart through the thickest cane ifaey could find, we oberared their course and on which side we had left their sign, and travelled upwards of thirty miles. We then imagined diat they would be less cautious in travelling and made a turn in order to cross their trace, and had gone but a few miles, before we found their tracks in a bufiaJo path : pur- aaed and orertook them on going about ten miles, just as they were kiadling a fire to cook. Our study had been more to get die priaoDen widnut giving the InHi^iift time to murder them • CnlMd noH. HOTOST OP KEyrrcKY. 35 after they discoyered vs. than to kill tiiem. We discovered eastk other nearly at the same time. Four of ns fired, and aD rushed on them, which prevented their carrying any thing away except one shot-gun without any anunonitkn. Mr. Boone and mvself had a pretty fair shoot, just as they began to more offi I am well convinced I shot one throtjgh, and the one he dwt dropped his gun. mine had none. The place waa reiy thick with cane and being so much elated on recovering Ae Aree htde broken hearted girls, prevented oar making any farther seardi- We sent them off without their modrasons^ and not one of them so much as a knife oc a toaahawk." TTicse are fl»e raiembel- iished circumstances of a transaction, which a lively and mo^ interesting writer has, through misinftHmiidion, hisfackany dis- figured into a beautiful rooance.* A continaatian of sodi heart rending depredations and the death of the hunters in every di- rection, ^read a dismay, which may faintly be conceired from. the following most hcmoiable extracts from the corre^Mndatce of the same gallant man whose narrative has jasi been qoofted. ^'Iwant to return as much as any person can do; bat if I leave the country now, there is scarcely one single man h^eabouls-. but what will follow the example. When I think <^ the deplo- rable condition of a few helples families are likely to be in; I conclude to sell my life as dear as I can in their defence rather dan make an ignominious retreat.'' Again he says, ^ do at the request, and in behalf of all the distressed women and cM- dren and the inhabitants of thb place, implore die aid of every leading man, who may have ic iahis power, to give tfi^Baay re- lief.^ No place seems more appropriate tfian the present fiir detail- ing the circimistances usually attending an Indian siege. "The Indians in besieging a place are seldom seen in force upon any quarter: but dispersed, and acting individually, or in small par- ties. They conceal themselves in the bashes or weeds, or be hind trees or stumps of trees ; or waylay tiie path, os fidds, or other places which their enemies resort; and when one or more more can be taken down, in their opinion, they fire the gun- or vFImt's Ufeof Duid Boane,;ose sa. f XaidaB.1. C-U 34 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. let fly the arrow, aimed at the mark. If necessary, they re- treat — if they dare, they advance upon their killed, or crippled adversary ; and take his scalp, or make him prisoner, if possi- ble. They aim to cut off the garrison supplies, by killing the cattle ; and they watch the watering places, for those who go, for that article of primary necessity ; that they may by these means, reduce the place to their possession ; or destroy its in- habitants, in detail." "In the night, they will place themselves near the fort gate, ready to sacrifice the first person who shall appear in the morn- ing: in the day, if there be any cover — such as grass, a bush, a large clod of earth, or a stone as big as a bushel, they will avail themselves of it, to approach the fort, by slipping forward on their bellies, within gun-shot ; and then, whosoever appears first, gets the fire; while the assailant makes his retreat behind the smoke, from the gun. At other times they approach the walls, or palisades, with the utmost audacity — and attempt to fire them, or to beat down the gate. They often make feints, to draw out tlie garrison, on one side of the fort, and if practicable enter it by surprise, on the other. And when their stock of provision is exhausted, this being an individual affair, they sup- ply themselves by hunting; and again, frequently return to the siege ; if by any means they hope to get a scalp." "Such was the enemy, who infested Kentucky, and with whom the early adventurers had to contend. In the combat, they were brave; in defeat, they were dexterous; in victory, they were cruel. Neither sex nor age, nor the prisoner, were exempted from their tomahawk, or scalping knitc. They saw their per- petual enemy, taking possession of their hunting ground; to them, the source of amusement, of supply, and of traffic ; and they were detennined to dispute ijt to the utmost extent of their means. Had they possessed the skill which combines individual effort, with a concerted attack; and had they directed their whole force against each of the forts, then few, and feeble, in succession ; instead of dissipating their strength, by attacking all at the same time ; they could easily have rid Kentucky of its new inhabitants: and again restored it to the buffalo, and HISTORY OF KEMTCKI". 35 the Indian; the wild game, and its red hunters. But it was or- dered otherwise; and after inflicting great distress upon the settlers, without being able to take any of the forts, the ap- proach of winter dispersed them; they having, in the mean time, killed sundry persons; and destroyed most of the cattle round the stations. Of the settlers, however, it is to be said, that they acquired fortitude, and dexterity, in proportion to the occasional pressure. In the most difficult times, the Indians were obliged to retire into the woods, sometimes in pursuit of game, sometimes, as to a place of safety : and generally by night they withdrew, to encamp at a distance. In these inter- vals, the white men would plough their corn, or gather their crop, or get up their cattle, or hunt the deer, the bear, and buf- falo, for their own food." "When travelling, they left the paths ; and they frequently employed the night, to get out from, or return to, the garrison. In these excursions, they often exchanged shots with the In- dians: and at times, when they came to the station, found it in- vested.'' In despite of these difficulties and dangers, struggling for life with the wilderness and so wily and savage a foe, there were, ''from a review of the records," more "improvements" (as culti- vation or buildings are termed) "with a view to future settle- ment," in this year, -'than in any other." Nor were these dis- persed parties in so wide a territory, so generally exposed to the attacks of the enemy, as the fixed and notorious forts. CH.\PTER m. First visit of Clarke to Kentucky— Visits Ilarrodstown — Chosen a delegate to the Vir- ginia Legislature with Gabriel John Jor.es — Calls on Governor Henry — Receives gunpowder for Kentucky— Procures llie creation of Kentucky county— Brings gun- powder from Fort Pitt— Conceals it on the banks of Limestone creek— Blackfish attacks Harrodstown— Singular escape of Ray— Plans approved by Governor and Council— Spies in Illinois— Arrives at the Falls of Ohio— Eclipse of the Sun— Passes the Falls — Reaches Kaskaskia — Surprises the town — Takes Cabolda. The year 1775 was memorable for the arrival of that most daring and sagacious officer, George Rogers Claxke, who was 36 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. soon destined to intertwine his memory witli honors, as lasting as the great country, which he, by his genius, brought under Ihe American arms. "The appearance of Clarke," says Mr. Marshall, "was well calculated to attract attention; it was rendered particularly agreeable by the manliness of his deport- ment, the intelligence of his conversation; but above all, by the vivacity and boldness of his spirit for enterprise, and the determination he expressed of becoming an inhabitant of the country. He fixed on no particular residence, was much in the woods; incidentally visiting the forts and ostensible camps; he cultivated the acquaintance of the people, and acquired an extensive knowledge of the various objects presented to his curiosity or to his inspection," This distinguished commander, who, amidst deeds of hardi- hood and times of most gallant adventure, was by the general consent of his compeers, looked up to as their chief, was born in the county of Albermarle, in the state of Virginia, in Sep- tember, 1753. He, like the great master chief of the revolu- tion, engaged in the business of land surveying, under the unfortunate Colonel Crawford. There seems a fond alliance between this pursuit and many of the attractions of military life; free exercise in the open air, and adventurous expo- sure, both combine to fasten on a military spirit an attachment to this business, in the frontier woods of North America, re- .quiring, at the times in question, so much fortitude and bravery. Little is known of the early years of George Rogers Clarke, but the stirring times and the confined opportunities of that part of Virginia though now the scat of the literary monument which consecrated the last days of the great Jeflerson, forl)id much expectation beyond the elements of his language, and those not taught with the utmost precision. He is said to have been much devoted to several branches of mathematics and was distinguished for his precise and minute knowledge of geography. Like many other of the gallant spirits of his time, he embarked at the head of a company in Dunmore's war, and was engaged in the only active operation of the right wing against the Indians. After the suspicious haste with which HISTOBY OP KENXrCKY. 37 peace was made by Lord Dunmore, without following up the bloody blows of Point Pleasant, he was offered by the GoA'ernor, a commission in the royal service. This, on consultation with his friends, he was induced by the troubled complexion of affairs between his native country and Great Britain, to refuse. Early in 1T75, Clark visited Kentucky as the favorite theatre of romantic adventure at that day, he penetrated to Harrod's- To>vn, which after having been abandoned by Colonel Harrod, on the late rupture, with the Indians, had been re-possessed by him. In this visit, he either had a commission of major, or was from his service in Dunmore's war and prominent talents, voluntarily placed at the head of the irregular troops, then in Kentucky. He himself only speaks of settling in the fall of '77, the accounts of the Kentucky militia which would confirm the idea of his previous command, besides being known at that time as Major Clark. In the ensuing autumn Clark returned to Virginia, and again came back to Kentucky in the spring of '76.* He reflected deeply on its value to Virginia ?.sa frontier, as well as to the rest of the confederacy. The result of these meditations suo-uested to him, the importance of assembling the people of the country at Harrod's Town, as it was then called, to de- vise a plan for the public defence. At this time the claim of Henderson and Company, acquired under the treaty of Wa- ta<^a, in IMarch, '75, with the Cherokees, made a great deal of noise, and added no little to the perplexities of the settlers. • In regard to this second visit, the author cannot resisst tlie temptation to narrate an anecdote, whidi he in substance received from tlie lips of General Uay. It ilhisirates (he hardy privations of the times, and the free and generous spirit, in which all ttie little alle- viations cif these hardships, were shared with a fellow hunter in distress. '• I had come down" said the General, •' to where I now live," (about four miles north of Harrodslmre) " to turn some liorsps out in the ran^e; I had killed a small blue win? duck, that was feed- ing in my sprins, and had roasted it nirelj' on the brow of the hill, about twenty steps east of my house." After havini taken it o.T to cool, I was nmch surprised on heins sud ^eiily accosted by a fine soldierly looking man. who exclaimed, •• How do you do my little fellow? What is your name? An't you afraiil of being in the woods by yourself?" On satisfying his inquiries, I invited the traveller to partake of my duck, which he did with- out leaving me a bone to pick, his appetite was so keen; though he should have been wel- come to all the 2ime I could have killed, said Ray, when I afterwards l)ecaine acquainted with his noble and L'allant soul. After satisfying liis questions, be inquired of the stranger his own name and business in this remote region. My name is Clark, he answered, and 1 have come out to see what you brave fellows are doing in Kentucky, and to lend yon a helping hand if necessary. The General, a boy of sixteen, then conducted Clarii to Harrodslown. where he spent his time making the observations on the condition and prospects of the country, natural to Ids comprehensive mind, and assisting at every op- portunity in its defence. D 180331 38 HISTORY OF KENTrCKY. It became uncertain whether the south side of the Kentucky river appertained to Virginia or to North Carolina. These difficulties increased the necessity of ascertaining the disposi- tion of the former ; on the 6th of June, at the suggestion of Clark, a general meeting took place in Harrod's Town, at which he, and Gabriel John Jones, were chosen members of the Assembly of Virginia. This, however, was not the course in- tended by Clark; he v/anted the people to choose agents, with general powers to negotiate with the Government of Vii-ginia, and if abandoned by it, to employ the lands of the country, as a fund to obtain settlers, and establish an independent State. The election had, however, proceeded too far to change its object, when Clark, who had been detained, arrived at the town; the gentlemen elected, although they were aware the choice could give them no seat in the Legislature, proceeded to Williamsburg, at that time the seat of Government. They selected the route through the southern Avilderness, as it has generally been called, lying between the settlements of Ken- tucky, and those of Virginia, under most distressing difficulties. Independent of losing one of their horses, the extreme wetness of the season, and the danger of kindling fires, amidst strag- o-linij parties of Indians, the travelling through the mud, and over the mountains, brought on a most painful affliction, called by the hunters, the scald feet. In this complaint, the feet become useless from excessive tenderness, and the skin decays; so that the weight of the body becomes intolerable. While suffering in this manner, " more torment than I ever expe- rienced" says Clark, " before, or since," they found the old stations near the Cumberland Gap, and Martin's Fort, where they fondly hoped to have found' relief, both al)andoncd by the inhabitants owing to fear of the Indians. At the latter place, however, the desperate party determined to stay until their feet were recovered ; when this was accomplished, they again pros- ecuted their journey. On reaching the county of Bottctourt, it was found that the legislature had adjourned: upon which, Mr. Jones returned to the settlement on Ilolston, and left Clark to attend to the Kentucky mission. lie immediately waited on niSTORY OP KENTUCKY. 39 Governor Henry, then lying sick at his residence in Hanover county, to whom he opened the objects of his journey; these met the cordial approbation of the Governor; in consequence of which he gave Clark a suitable letter to the Executive Council of the state. An application was then made to the Council, for five hundredweight of gunpowder, in order to defend the sta- tions in Kentucky. This body, though well disposed to assist their countrymen, remote as their situation was, and not yet united to Virginia, by any express legislative recognition, said, they could only lend the pow^der to them, as friends in dis- tress, but could not give it to them as fellov.'-citizens. At the same time, they required Clark to be answerable for the value, in case the legislature should not recognize the Ken- tuckians as citizens; and, in the meantime, to bear the ex- penses of its conveyance to Kentucky. This, Clark assured them was out of his power; he represented to them that the British w^ere trying every means, to engage the Indians in the war; that the people in the remote and exposed stations of Ken- tucky, might be destroyed for want of the supply, which he, a private individual, had sought at so much hazard and hardship for their relief; that when this frontier was destroyed, the fury of the savages would be brought nearer home. The Council was still inexorable, the sympathy for the frontier settlers was deep, but the assistance already offered, was a stretch of power, and the council declared, they could go no farther. The order was then issued to the keeper of the public magazine to deliver the powder to Clark: he had long reflected on the situation and the prospects of the country he had left; his reso- lution to reject the assistance on these conditions, was fixed, he says, before he left the council chamber, to repair to Ken- tucky, and as he had at first proposed, exert the resources of the country for the formation of an independent state. He, ficcordingly, returned the order of council in a letter, inform- ing them, that ho h:vj weighed the matter well, and had found it utterly out of his power, to convey military stores to such a distance, through an enemy's country; he added, that he was mortified to find, that tlie people of Kentucky must look for 40 HISTORY OF KENTtJCKY. assistance elsewhere, than in their native state; which, how- ever, he had no doubt they could obtain ; that a country ichich was not worth defending, was not worth claiming. The delibe- rations of the council on this letter of Clark's, are unknown; but they may easily be conceived from the sagacity and patriot- ism, which shone so brilliantly in the government of Virginia, at whose head the great Henry then presided. On the receipt of this letter, Clark was sent for, and an order of council passed on the 23d of August, 1776, for conveying the gunpow- der desired, to Pittsburgh, "to be safely kept and delivered to Mr. George Rogers Clark, or his order, for the use of the said inhabitants of KentucM.'''' This is the first step in the long and affectionate intercourse, which has subsisted between Kentucky and her parent commonwealth ; and obvious as the reflection is, it may not be omitted, that on the transportation of five hun- dred weight of gunpovvder, hung the connexion between Vir- ginia and the splendid domain, which she afterwards obtained on the west of the Alleghany mountains. To this compromise of the council, Clark, influenced by attachment to his native state, acceded ; and immediately wrote to his friends in Ken- tucky of his success, desiring them to transport the powder down the Ohio to Kentucky. This letter they never received. At the fall session of the legislature of Virginia, Messrs. Jones and Clark laid the Kentucky petition before that body : they were of course not admitted to legislative seats, though late in the session, in despite of the exertions of Colonels Hender- son and Campbell, they obtained the erection of the county of Kentuchj, which then embraced the limits of the present State of that name. Thus, our political organization was prin- cipally obtained by the generous daring of George Rogers Clark, who must be ranked as the earliest fovndcr of the com- monwealth. This mea.surc gave it form and pressure, and enti- tled it, under the constitution of Virginia, to a representation in the legislature, as well as to a judicial and military arrange- ment. Clark hiid his associate having obtained these impor- tant benefits for the country, were preparing to come again to the interesting colony; when they heard that the supply ofgui>- niSTOEY OF KEXTTTCKr. 41 j50wder, obtained with so much painful effort, still lay at Pitts- burgh. Jones and himself then determined to return by that place, for an article, so precious in the condition of the frontier. At Fort Pitt, they found many Indians lurking aboat, apparently for the purpose of making treaties; but who, in reality were acting as spies upon the movements of our countrymen, whose intention to descend the Ohio they seemed to suspect, and would apparently interrupt. In this state of things, our party resolved to prosecute their voyage without delay, and with no more than seven boatmen, with indefatigable exertions, pursued the whole way by Indians, they got safe to Limestone ci-eek. They went up this small stream with their boat, and hiding their cargo in different places in the woods, along its banks, at considerable distances apart; they turned their boat adrift, and directed their course to Harrod's Town, to procure a sufncient escort for the powder. On their way through the woods, the party came to a solitary cabin of Hingston's on the west fork of Licking creek. While resting, here, some men, who had been surveying, happened at the same place, and informed them, that as yet the Indians had not done much injury; and that Colonel John Todd was in the neighborhood with a small body of men; that if they could be met with, there would be sufficient force to escort the povrder to its destination. Clark, however, with his usual promptitude, after having Avaited for some time, in vain, for Colonel Todd, set off fur Harrod's Town, a.ccompanied by tv/o of the men, leaving the residue vrith Mr. Jones, to remain at Kingston's. Soon after Clark had de- parted. Colonel Todd arrived; and upon being informed of the military stores left at the river, thinking his force was now suf- ficient to effect their removal, he marched with ten men for this purpose. When they had reached tb.e country about the Blue Licks, they met on the 25th of September, with an Indian party, which were following the trail of Clark and his companions; they attacked the whites with such vigor, as to rout them en- tirely, having killed Jones, and som.c others, and took some prisoners. Fortunately for Kentucky, the prisoners proved true to their countrymen, and preserved (he secrct of the stores D* 42 HISTORY OF KENTTJCKY. inviolate, while the party detached from Harrod's Town, brought them safely to their over-joyed friends. On the 29th of Decem- ber, a large body of Indians attacked M'Clellan's fort, on Elk- horn, killed M'Clellan, his wife, and two others, which drove the residue of the people to Harrod's Town. This necessa- rily produced great alarm; it was soon much increased by an attack of the Indians upon James Ray, his brother, and another man, who were clearing some land about four miles from Harrod's Town, at the present residence of this venerable and distinguished pioneer. The hostile party consisting of forty-seven warriors under command of Blackfish, a celebrated chief, attracted by the noise of the axes, rushed upon the little party of choppers, killed the younger Ray, and took the third man prisoner. The elder Ray escaped by his uncommon swift- ness of foot. So remarkable was this young woodsman for his running, that Blackfish mentioned to Boone the next year, when he took the latter prisoner at the Blue Licks, that some boy at Harrod's Town had outrun all his warriors. Fortunate it was for the infant fort, that Ray possessed such nimbleness of foot; for without his escape, the station might have been surprised in the same manner, in which the party had, at the Shawnee springs. By his information every thing was done to strengthen the fort, and prepare for the expected storm. On the next morning, the Indians with the precaution usual to them not to prosecute an expedition, immediately after any circumstance has happened, calculated to put an enemy on his guard ; did not appear before the fort, until the next morning, on the 7th of ]\Iarch, 1777. The militia had been organized but two days before. The Indians began their attack by setting fire to an out cabin on the cast side of the town ; this, the men not believing to be the act of the enemy, rushed out of the fort to extinguish. The attempt was now made to inter- cept their return ; our people retreated until they got to a piece of woods, which then covered the hill, now occupied by the court-house in Harrodsburg, where each took to a tree, or treed, as it was termed in tlic language of the times. In this conflict, one Indian was killed, and four of the whites were wounded, HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 43 one of whom died; they made good their retreat to the fort, and the Indians soon afterwards withdrew. Daring the year 1777, they collected in great numbers round this devoted place, so as to prevent any corn from being raised about the town. In this period of danger and scarcity, Ray but seventeen years old, used to rise before day, and with one old horse, the only one left by the Indians of forty head brought to Kentucky by his father-in-law, Major McGary, proceeded as cautiously as possi- ble to Salt river; and riding in the water, as well as in the bed of some stream, on leaving the river, in order to conceal his route. When sufficiently out of hearing, he would kill his load of meat; this he would bring to the suffering garrison by night fall: while elder hunters, stimulated by these boyish exploits, attempting the same enterprise, were killed by the Indians. In the course of this summer, one McConnel was trying his gim near the fort at a mark, in company with Hay, when tlie former was suddenly shot dead. His companion following the direction of the shot, perceived the enemy; but while he was attempting to revenge the death of his friend, he found himself suddenly attacked by a large body of Indians, who had crept up unseen. For one hundred and fifty yards, Ray was exposed to their fire in making his retreat, which he accomplished with his usual speed. But when he approached the fort of Harrods- burg, the people did not dare to open the gate for his admission. In this most critical situation, pursued by a band of savages, and refused shelter by his friends, Ray, had no other alter- native, than to throw himself flat on the ground behind a stump, which was just large enough to protect his bod)' . He lay in this situation for four hours, under the fire of the Indians, whose balls would every now and then throw up the ground upon him. Here he lay within seven steps of the fort wall, and his motlier within sight of her son, in this perilous condition; still the enemy did not venture to come within fire from the fort. It was now that Ray, on the suggestion of the moment, hollow- ed out, " for God's sake dig a hole under the cabin wall, and take me in." Strange as the expedient was, it was immediately adopted, and the young hunter was introduced in this strange 44 HISTORY OF KEXTrCKir. way; though not quite like the Grecians of old, once more to the friends, who so much dep€n<]ed on his arm, and bj"- whom he was 6o much beloved. During the fall of this year, in order to make up the deficiency arising from having raised no corn, the people of the fort de- termined to make a turnip patch, about two hundred yards northwest of the station; while clearing the ground, an Indian was shot at by the guard and the men retired. The next day the cattle were perceived to be disturbed, and snuffing the air about a small field in the furthest corner, that had been allowed to grow up in very high weeds. The presence of the ene- my was instantly suspected; and that they were concealed there ; so sure were the cattle to betray the neighborhood of Indians by their uneasiness, produced either at their sight, or by the smell of the Indian paint. Yet it was never known to be manifested at the sight of white men ; although the latter might be exposed to all the same occasions of peculiar odour, contracted by killing the game, cooking and sleeping in the woods. This indication prompted Major George Rogers Clark, to turn the ambuscade upon the enemy. For this purpose some men were still kept in the turnip patch, nearest to the fort, working, and occasionally hollowing to their companions to come out to their work; while a party of men under Clark went back of the field, where they came upon the rear of the Indians lying concealed in the weeds. Four of the Indians were killed; one by Clark, another by Ray; the first he ever despatched. The white party then pursued the Indians until they came to the remains of a large Indian encampment, now deserted. Here they found within four hundred yards of the fort, down the creek, two ro^^s of camp wiih poles between for slinging their kettles, that might have accommodated five or six hundred Indians. From this camp the enemy had issued dur- ing the preceding summer to assail the station^^ which they had done to their great discomfiture, and the destruction of their horses and cuttle: the enemy Imd now abandoned their position, and the party which had just been pursued, was the last remnant of this great Indian force. It was on account of this action, Major llISTORT OF KENTUCKY. 45 Clark complimented General Ray with the gun of the Indian, the first ever killed by him ; a compliment from such a source, well worthy of recollection in the life of any man; the rest of the Indian property discovered in the camp, was, as usual, divi- ded by lottery among the captors. Hitherto the war in Kentucky had been carried on by the perseverance and the gallantry of the backwoodsmen them- selves, with little assistance from the power of Virginia, ex- cepting that which was procured by the devotion of Messrs. Clark and Jones. The tremendous strugfjle of tlie Revolu- tion, involving every thing dear to a free and generous people, demanded all the energies of the commonwealth. The state had not disposable means to act on so remote a frontier; nor does the government of Virginia appear to have been dis- tinctly aware, of the important diversion of the Indian force, which might be effected by supporting the exertions of Kentucky. As little did she perceive the rich acquisitions offered to her mili- tary ambition in the British posts in the western country. Yet every Indian engaged on the frontier of the Kentucky, was saved to the nearer frontier of the parent state. These combined views acquired greater weight with the progress of the Revo- lution, and the increasing population of Kentucky; they were particularly aided by the ardent and impressive representations of Major Clark. He had witnessed the rise and growth of tliis section of the country from its earliest buddings; he bad penetrated its condition and its relations with the instinctive genius, which stamped him the most consummate of the wes- tern commanders. He had seen at a glance, that the sources of the Indian devastations were to be found in the British possessions of Detroit, St. V^incents, and Kaskaskia. The heart rending ravages spread by the barbarians of the western hemi- sphere, and which have again been so recently displayed in our own times, were stimulated by the ammunition, arras, and cloth- ing, supplied at these military station?. If they could be taken, the streams of hostility which had ovcrllown Kentucky with hor- rors, would be dried up, and a counter influence established over the savages. Under the influence of these views, the Go- 46 niSTOUY OF KEXTUCKY. vernor and council of Virginia, in the year 1778, took into consideration the policy of an expedition, against the strong holds of her foes ; though situated many hundreds of miles from the main seat of her population and resources. This expedition must be mainly attributed to the genius of Clark, who had fore- seen its necessity during his visits to Kentucky. So strongly was he impressed with the importance of this movement, that in the summer of '77, he had despatched two spies of the names of Moore and Dunn, to reconnoiter the situation of these remote parts of the enemy. These emissaries reported great activity on tho part of the militia, as well as the most extended encour- agement to the Indians in their barbarous depredations upon the Kentucky frontier; yet, notwithstanding the enemy had essayed every art of misrepresentation to prejudice the French inhabitants against the Virginians, by telling them that these frontier people were more shocking barbarians than the savages themselves, still the spies reported strong traces of aftection for the Americans, among some of the inhabitants. Not that the spies, or any body else, were acquainted w ith the contem- plated expedition, till it was ripe to be laid before the Governor and council of Virginia. To this body he determined to sub* mit the matter; when, on the 1st of October, 1777, he left Ken- tucky. At this time he says, " every eye was turned towards me, as if expecting some stroke in their favor; some doubted my return, expecting I would join the army in Virginia. I left them with reluctance, promising them I would certainly return to their assistance, which I had predetermined." He remained a considerable time at Williamsburg, settling the accounts of the Kentucky militia, and, as he says, " making remarks on every thing I saw or heard, that could lead me to a knowledge of the disposition of those in power." During this time the genius of the Republic had achieved the victory of Saratoga, and the spell of British regulars, like that of British sailors and ships in more recent times, was broken. The spirits of Virginia may well be supposed to have partaken of tho general triumph, and on the 10th of December, Clark opened the plan of the Illinois campaign to Governor Henry. At first the Go- IIISTORV OF KENTUCKY. 47 vernor was captivated by the brilliant prospect of strikino- such a fatal blow against the enemy, and in the heart of their savage allies; yet a detachment on so distant a service, appeared hazardous and daring to an alarming degree; particularly as the secrecy indispensable to success, forbade the communica- tion of the plan to the legislature. The Governor held several private conferences on this interesting measure, with several gentlemen of high character, who inquired minutely into Clark's plans, and particularly into his proposition, in case of repulse, (which seems to have been quite expected) to retreat to the Spanish possessions on the west side of the Mississippi. The result of these deliberations was, a full approbation of the scheme, and in order to encourage the men, these *patriotic gentlemen, like worthy sons of Old Virginia, pledged them- selves by an instrument of writing; in case of success, to esert their influence to obtain from the Legislature, a bounty of three hundred acres of land for every person in the expedition. The executive and his council, now entered so warmly into the scheme, that every thing was expedited with " very little trou- ble" to Clark. So that, on the 2d of January, 1778, he received two sets of instructions; one public, directing him to proceed to Kentucky for its defence; and the other secret, ordering an attack on the British post at '■'■ Kaslxuslii.'''' The humane and generous spirit in which these instructions of the immortal Henry were penned, will ever reflect honor, amidst the provo- cations of a relentless enemy, on the early councils of Vii-ginia. They form a monument of durable glory in the Revolutionary annals of our parent state. Twelve hundred pounds (in depre- ciated paper it is presumed) were advanced to Colonel Clark, with suitable orders on the Virginia ofticer at Fort Pitt for am- munition, boats, and all other necessary equipment. Major William B. Smith was despatched to the settlement on Ilolston, to recruit; as well as Captains Leonard Helm, of Fauquier, Joseph Bowman, of Frederick, William Harrod, and several others, in other quarters. It was desired by the government, * Georse WyUic, Gcoree Mason, and Thomas Jefferson, in their letter to George Ro- ^rs Clark, Esq., January 3, li i8. 48 HI9T0ET OF HJliVTUCKy. that the troops should be raised west of the Blue Ridge, so as not to weaken the Atlantic defence. On the 4th of February, Colonel Clark set off', " clothed with all the authority" he says, " I could wish." At Fort Pitt, he met with some difficulties aris- ing from the disputed dominion, which then agitated the friends of Pennsylvania and Virginia; many thought the detachment of troops to Kentucky, was a wanton dispersion and division of strength. The secrecy of his real destination, and the ostensi- ble one of Kentucky, led many to declare it better to remove the Kentuckians, than weaken the country by undertaking their defence. Little did these objectors know the innate vigor, the indomitable energy of the backwoodsmen of Kentucky, and of the west, when they talked of removing them like so many chattels. At this very time, Clark received letters from Ken- tucky, informing him of their increased strength since he had left them; and from Major Smith, that he had raised four com- panies for the expedition, among the people of the Holston set- tlements. This intelligence, toiiether with the knowledge that Captains Helm and Bowman's companies would join him at Redstone, the present Brownsville, on the Monongahela, render- ed Colonel Clark less strenuous in urging his levies about Pitts- burgh. It was late in the season before he could depart with three companies, and " a considerable number of families and private adventurers." The voyage was prosecuted as it re- ijuired to be, with great caution ; at the mouth of the Great Ken- hawa. Colonel Clark was pressed by a Captain Arbuckle, com- manding the fort at that point, to join him in pursuit of a party of two hundred and fifty Indians, who had attacked him the day be- fore ; and had now directed their course against the settlements on Greenbrier river. The temptation of success was great, but the importance of his own expedition was greater, and fortu- nately for his country, Clark knew his duty too well, and dis- charged It too faithfully, to be diverted from his purpose. lie continued his course to the mouth of the Kentucky river; here, ho landed, and for some time thought of fortifying a post at this place; but looking to his more western destination, very judi- ciously abandoned his intention for a more desirable position at HISTORY OF KENTUCKV. 49 the Falls : where the craft of the river trade would be compelled to stop, in order to prepare for the passage of the Rapids, and which, without fortification, would be much exposed to the hostilities of the Indians. At the former place, Clark had the mortification to hear, that the company of Captain Dillard was the only one of Major Smith's men, who had arrived in Ken- tucky. He immediately wrote to Colonel Bowman, informino- him of his nitention to fix a post at the Falls; and that havino- an object in view of the greatest importance to the country, he desired Bowman to meet him at that place, with all the men re- cruited by Smith, and as many others, as could be spared from the interior stations. The detachment proceeded to the Falls where he selected and fortified Corn Island, opposite to Louis- ville. On the arrival of Colonel Bowman's party, the forces of the country were found too weak, to justify takino' many from Kentucky; Clark, therefore, engaged but one company, and part of another, fro.m this quarter, expecting them to be re- placed by the troops of Major Smith. Here Clark disclosed to the troops his real destination to Kaskaskia; and honorably to the gallant feelings of the times, the plan was ardently concur- red in by all the detachment, except the company of Caotain Dillard. The boats were, therefore, ordered to be well secured and sentries were placed where it was supposed, the men mi^ht wade across the river to the Kentucky shore. This was the day before Ciark intended to start; but a little before light, the greater part of Captain Dillard's company with a Lieutenant, whose name is generously spared by Colonel Clark, passed the sentinels unperccivcd, and got to the opposite bank. The dis appointment was cruel, its consequences alarming; Clark im- mediately mounted a party on the horses of the Harrodsburt^ gentlemen, and sent after the deserters with orders to kill all who resisted ; the pursuers overtook the fugitives about twenty miles in advance; these soon scattered through the woods, and excepting seven or eight, who were brought back, suffered most severely every species of distress. The people of Harrod's Town felt the baseness of the Lieutenant's conduct so keenly, and resented it with such indignation, that they would not for E 50 iiisTonr of kentuckv. some time, let him or his companions, into the fort. On the return of this detachment from the pursuit, a day of rejoicing was spent between the troops about to descend the river, and those who were to return on a service, little inferior in danger and privation, the defence of the interior stations. The next day,* when the sun was in a total eclipse, the boats passed the Falls. This circumstance divided the men in their prognosti- cations, but not quite with the terror and alarm we read of in ancient armies. All the baggage beyond what was necessary to equip the party in the barest Indian manner, was left behind, as the commander had determined, in order to mask his opera- tions, to march to Kaskaskiaby land) from the nearest point on the Ohio. Colonel Clark for some time meditated a blow against St. Vincents, but en reviewing his little body, consisting after a rio-id selection of but four companies, under Captains Jo. Mont- gomery, L. Helm, Joseph Bowman, and William Harrod; he determined to prosecute the original object of his expedition. The facility of retreat to the Spanish possessions, as well as the more dispersed state of the French settlements in the Illi- nois, as it was called, seem to have had great weight in this selection. To this was added, a hope, that he might attach the French to the American interest, whose influence over the In- dians throughout these extensive territories, was strengthened by time, and maintained by a tact and versatility, which have been undiminished for two centuries. To this day our inter- preters, our spies, and some of the subordinate agents, are Frenchmen. Spaniards have always been much despised, and are so at this day on the Mexican frontier; the English are not much regarded, our own countrymen arc dreaded, but the French are beloved. On the passage down the river, Colonel Clark mo.Si fortunately received a letter from Colonel John Campbell, of Fort Pitt, informing him of the French alliance, a circumstance, as subsequent events shewed, of the utmost mo- ment to the American arms. At the mouth of Tennessee, the party landed on an Lsland, which is called jBaritaria, in the * Thin must, by tlic calal')!.'ue of crlipsos, liavn liappem.il on tlie 04tU of June, 1~8, wlii-ii llierc was a solar (Tlipsi.'. i^cc I"cr;;iisi()rrs 'J'alilrs. t Pojsibly a mistake from the obscurity of the iiiaiiuscript. HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 51 memoirs of Clark; a few hours after his arrival, a person of the name of John Diift', and a party of hunters, were stopped by the guard. These persons, though originally from the Ameri- can settlements, had recently come from Kaskaskia, and com- municated the most important intelligence: from them it was learned, that M. Rocheblave commanded at Kaskaskia ; that the militia were kept in good order; spies were stationed on the Mississippi; and all Indians and hunters ordered to keep a sharp look out for the rebel Virginians. The fort, which commanded the town, was kept in good order, as a place of retreat; but with- out a regular garrison, and the military defence was attended to, as a matter of parade, rather than from any expectation of its necessity to guard against an attack. If this should be antici- pated, the force of the place, they said, was capable of giving the Americans a warm reception ; the inhabitants were led by the British to entertain the most horrid apprehensions of our countrymen, as more barbarous, and more to be dreaded, than the Indians themselves. But if we could surprise the place, these hunters thought, there would be no doubt of our capturing it; they offered their services to effect this result, and solicited to be employed. This offer was readily accepted, and the whole meeting proved, a most essential service, in the absence of all intelligence from the enemy's country, since the return of the spies employed by Clark in the previous year. One portion of their information particularly pleased him, and which he determined to employ to promote his purposes; it was the dread and horror in which our countrymen were held by the inhabitants. In consequence of this sentiment, he thought the more violent the shock might be, which his arrival should pro- duce, the stronger would be their sensibility to his lenity, so little to be expected from the barbarians they were represented. In fact. Colonel Clark determined to enlist this national appre- hension in his service, and employ it as an auxiliary to his di- minutive forces. Every thing being ready for the march, the boats dropped down a short distance above Fort Massac, (contracted I'rom Massacre) where they were concealed; and the party marched 52 HISTORY OF KENTt'CKY. with their commander at their head, sharing in every respect the condition of his men, in a northwest direction, through the present State of IlUnois, for the ancient French village ofKas- kaskia. This march Avas attended by little that was unusual in these times of privation, beyond the ordinary sufferings of such expeditions through the forests. Game and water were, how- ever, scarce 5 but on the third day, John Saunders, the principal guide, got so bewildered, that he had forgotten all the features of the country. This excited immediate suspicion, and a gene- ral cry arose amcng the men, to put the traitor to death ; he solicited permission of his Colonel to go into a prairie, which was full in view, to try and recover himself. His application was granted; but some men were sent with him to prevent his escape, and he was sternly told, that if he did not conduct the detachment into the hunters' road, which lead into Kaskaskia^ from the east, and which he had frequently described and tra- velled, leading through a country not easily forgotten by a woodsman; he should surely be hung. After an hour or two spent in examining the neighborhood, the poor fellow discover- ed a spot which he perfectly recollected, and his innocence was established. On the evening of the 4th of July, 1778, the ex- pedition reached within a few miles of the town, where it lay until dark, when the march was continued; a house was thea taken possession of, about three quarters of a mile above the town, which lay on the opposite, or westerly side of the Kas- kaskia river. Here it was learned, that the militia had a few days before been under arms; but no cause of real alarm hav- ing been discovered, at that time, every thing was quiet; that there was a " great number of men in the town; the Indians had, however, mostly gone." A sufficient quantity of boats tor transportation of the troops was soon procured; two divisions of the party cro.«.scd the river, with orders to repair to different pats of the town; while Colonel Clark, with the third divi.«ion, took possession of the fort (afterwards called Fort Clark) on this side of the river, in point blank shot of the town. Should this detachment meet with no resistance, upon a sign.al given, the other two parties were directed, to possess with a shout, niSTOEr OF KEXTUCKV. 53 certain quarters of the town; and to send persons who could speak French, through the streets to give the inhabitants notice, *'that every man of the enemy, who should appear in them, would be shot down." These dispositions had the most com- plete success; the fort was taken; Clark entered it bv *•' a postern gate left open on the river side of the fortification" ■which was " shewn by a hunting soldier, who had been taken prisoner the evening before." The town of about two hundred and fifty houses was surrounded, every avenue guarded to pre- vent communication of intelligence, and " in about two hours the inhabitants were disarmed," without one drop of bloodshed. During the night, our men were ordered to patrol the town with the utmost tumult and whooping, after the Indian fashion, while the inhabitants preserved the most profound silence. The arti- fice, however painful and alarming to their feelings, was, at least, one of the most innocent stratagems of war. M. Roche, blave, or Rocheblawe, as Mr. Jefferson has it, the British Go- vernor was taken in his chamber; but very few of his public papers could be secured, as they were secreted or destroyed, it was supposed by his wife. This lady is represented as pre- suming a good deal on the gallantry of our countrymen, by im- posing upon their delicacy towards herself, for the purpose of screening the public property and papers, trem the hands of the Americans. But better, ten thousand times better were it so, than, that the ancient fame of the sons of Virginia, should have been tarnished by — insult to a female. Although it was sus- pected that many important papers might be concealed, in the trunks of the Governor's lady; they were, however, honorably respected, and not examined. During the night several persons were sent for to obtain intelligence, but little information could be procured, beyond what had been already received, except that a considerable body of Indians lay at this time in the neiffh- borhood of Cahokia, about sixty miles higher up the j\Iississippi; and that jM. Cere, (the father of the present jMadame Auguste » Judee David Todd, of Missouri, obligingly communicated this circumstance, from tlie papers of tlie late General Levi Todd, who acted as aid lo Colonel Clark. Our couiitry- pien were called Bostoni, by the French at ihis time. 54 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKY. Chouteau.) of St. Louis, the principal merchant of Kaskaskia^ was, at that time, one of the most inveterate enemies of the Americans. This gentleman had left the town before Clark had captured it, and was now at St. Louis, on his way to Quebec, whence he had lately returned, in the prosecution of extensive commercial operations: his family, and an extensive assortment of merchandise, were in Kaskaskia. By means of these pledges in his power. Colonel Clark thought to operate upon M. Cere, whose influence was of the utmost consequence in the condition of the American interest, if it could be brought to be exerted in its favor. With the view of gaining this gentleman, a guard was immediately placed round his house, and seals placed on his property, as well as on all the other merchandise in the place. On the fifth, the troops were whhdrawn from the town to different positions around it; during these movements, as all intercourse with the soldiers had been forbidden under heavy punishment, and even those who were sent for by Clark, had also been ordered to have no communication with the rest; dis- trust and terror overspread the town. In possession of an ene- mv, of whom the inhabitants entertained the most horrid appre- hensions, and all intercourse either with one another, or with their conquerors sternly prohibited, the anticipations of the in- habitants might well be gloomy. In this state ofthings, after the removal of the troops, the people were permitted to walk about freely; when finding they were busy in conversation with one another, a few of the j)rincipal militia ofliccrs were apprehended by orders of Clark, and put in irons without assigning any rea- son, or suffering any defence. This immediately produced general consternation, and the worst consequences were ex- pected from the enemy, whom their suspicions had invested with such terrors. Yet these measures were taken from no wanton cruelty, for of all men. Colonel Clark enjoyed the mild- est and most afTcctionatc disposition, and he severely felt, as he says, every hardship, he believed himself compelled to inflict. After some time, M. Gibault, the priest of the village, got per- mission with five or six elderly gentlemen, to wait on Colonel Clark. Shocked as the citizens had been by the sudden cap- HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 55 inte of their town, and by such an enemy as their imaginations had painted, this party were still more evidently shocked when thev entered Clark's quarters, at the appearance of him and his . officers. Their clothes dirty and torn by the briars, their others left at the river, the appearance of the chiefs of this little band, was indeed frightful and savage, as Clark himself admits, to any eyes. How much more so to this deputation, may be easily conceived by those, who are acquainted with the refinement and delicacy of the ancient French. It was some time after entering the room where Clark and his officers were seated, be- fore they could speak; and not then, until their business was demanded; they asked, which was the commander; so effec- tually had this backwoods expedition confounded the differ- ences of rank. The priest then said, that the inhabitants ex- pected to be separated, perhaps never to meet again; and they begged through him, to be permitted to assemble in the church, to take leave of each other. Clark, aware they suspected their very religion to be obnoxious to our people, carelessly told him, that he had nothing to say against his church, it was a matter Americans left for every man to settle with his God; that the people might assemble at church if they would ; but at the same lime if they did, they must not venture out of town. Some fur- ther conversation was attempted on the part of the Kaskaskia gentlemen, but it was repelled by saying there was no longer leisure for further intercourse, in order that the alarm might be raised to its utmost height. The whole town assembled at the church, even the houses were deserted by all who could leave them. Orders were honorably given to prevent any soldiers from entering the vacant buildings; the people remained in the church for a considerable time, after which, the priest accom- panied by several gentlemen, waited on Colonel Clark, and ex- pressed in the name of the village, " their thanks for the indul- gence they had received." The deputation then begged leave, at the request of the inhabitants, to address their conqueror on a subject, which was dearer to thciu, than any other; they were sensible, they said, " that their present situation was the late of war, and they could submit to tiic loss of their property; but 56 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. they solicited, that they might not be separated from their wives and children J and that some clothes and provisions might be allowed for their further support." These gentlemen assured Colonel Clark that tiicir conduct had been influenced by their commandants, whom they considered themselves bound to obey ; nor were they sure, that they understood the nature ol the con- test between Great Britain and the United States ; as the oppor- tunities of this remote region, were very unfavorable to accu- rate information. Indeed many of the inhabitants had fre- quently expressed themselves in favor of the Americans, as much as they durst. The utmost hope of this close repetition of the case of the citizens of Calais, with ropes about their necks, at the mercy of the third Edward of England was, for favor to their wives and children. In this distress of the villagers, Clark, who had now wound up their terrors to the desired height, resolved to try the force, which the lenity his whole heart had all along intended to grant, might receive from the sudden contrast of feelings. For this purpose, he abruptly asked these gentlemen, " do you mistake us for savages? I am almost certain you do, from your language. Do you think that Americans intend to strip women and children, or take the bread out of their mouths?" "My countrymen," said Clark, disdain to make war upon helpless innocence; it Mas to prevent the horrors of Indian butchery upon our own wives and chil- dren, that we have taken arms and penetrated into this remote strong hold of British and Indian barbarity; and not the despi- cable prospect of plunder. That now the King of France had united his powerful arms Avith those of America, the war would not, in all probability, continue long; but the inhabitants of Kaskaskia were at liberty to take which side they pleased, with- out the least danger to cither their property or families. Nor would their religion be any source of disagreement; as all reli- gions were regarded with equal respect in the eye of the Ameri- can law, and that any insult which should be offered it, would be immediately punished. And now, to prove my sincerity, you will please inform your fellow-citizens, that they are quite at liberty to conduct themselves as usual, without the least ap- HISTORY OF KE:yTUCKY. 57 prehension; I am now convinced from what I have learned since my arrival among you, that you have been misinformed and prejudiced against us by British officers; and your friends who are in confinement shall immediately be released." The agitation and joy of the village seniors, upon hearing this speech of Clark, may well be conceived ; they attempted some apology for the implied imputation of barbai'ians, under the belief, that the property of a captured town belonged to the conquerors; Clark gently dispensed with this explanation, and desired them to relieve the anxieties of the inhabitants immediately, re' quiring them to comply strictly with the terms of a proclama- tion, which he would shortly publish. The contrast of feeling among the people upon learning these generous and magnani- mous intentions of their conquerors, verified the sagacious an- ticipations of Colonel Clark. In a few moments the mortal de- jection of the village, was converted into the most extravagant joy; the bells were set a ringing, and the church was crowded with the people, offering up thanks to Almighty God for their deliverance from the horrors they had so fearfully expected. Perfect freedom was now given to the inhabitants to go or come OS they pleased; so confident were our countrymen, that what- ever report might be made, would be to the credit and success of the American arms. Some uneasiness was still felt respect- ing Cahokia, whose capture, Colonel Clark determined to at- tempt, and gain in the same way, if possible, as he had taken Kaskaskia. For this purpose, Major Bowman was ordered to mount his company on horses, with part of another, proceed to Cahokia, and take possession of the village for the state of Vir. ginia. Upon this intention being known, several of the Kas- kaskia gentlemen very handsomely ofiered their services to join our men, and effect any thing Colonel Clark desired. They assured him, that the people of Cahokia were their relations and friends; and they entertained no doubt of prevailing upon tJiem to unite in the same political attachments, so soon as the circumstances in which they were placed, should be fully ex- plained to them. This offer Clark readily embraced; it indeed very fortunately presented itself, in the weakness of his small 58 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. corps; and a detachment, little inferior in strength to that which had invaded the country, departed for this new conquest; if such acquisitions by mutual consent, can well be called so. The French party were commanded by their former militia officers, and all set off in high spirits at this new mark of confidence under the free government of Virginia. On the 6th of July, the expedition reached its destination before it was discovered by tlie inhabitants; their surprise, as might well be expected, was great, at this visit in hostile attitude. The cry of the Big Knife (the formidable appellation of the Virginians at that time) being in town, spread dreadful alarm among the helpless part of the little community; this, however, was soon allayed, when the gentlemen from Kaskaskia had an opportunity of narrating what had taken place at their own village, and the conduct of the Americans. The alarm of the people was soon convert- ed into huzzas for freedom and the Americans; and Major Bowman took possession of the British fort of Cahokia. The inhabitants in a few days took the oath of allegiance, and every thing promised the utmost harmony. This visit Of our country- men soon dispersed a body of Indians. Mho were encamped in the neighborhood of Cahokia, at that time, a place of considera- ble trade. CHAPTER IV Plan aenJnRt St. Vincents— Thanks of Virpinia— Pt. ViiircntB revolts from the British — M. Ciirault — Illinois comitv — Negotiations with New Orleans— Indian ncgotiatiood. But though Colonel Clark had met with a success so much beyond his means, and almost beyond his expectations; although tlic country was entirely subjected, and even attached, to the American government, yet his uneasiness was great. He was fully aware of the critical delicacy of his situation, and the ne- cessity of exerting all the address he was master of, to main- tain his position with service to his country, and honor to him- self. A close understanding was cultivated with the Spanish HISTORY OF KE>TrcKV. 59 officers on the opposite side of the Mississippi ; as every influ- ence was required to counteract the extended agency and con- trol of the British; who had distributed the bloody belt and hatchet from Lake Superior to Detroit, and the Mississippi. In tliis long chain of intrigue with the Indians, post St. Vincents formed an important link; not only from the warlike character of the adjacent tribes, but from their contiguity to Kaskaskia, and the settlements of Kentucky. Yet it was utterly beyond the force at the command of Clark, " joined by every man in Ken- tucky ;" he, therefore, resorted to other means. The American soldiers were instructed to speak of the Falls of Ohio, as the head quarters of the army, from which the present troops were only a detachment; that reinforcements were daily expected from that point, which was fortifying, and that when they arrived, more extensive military movements would take place. Some such artifice was necessary to excuse the apparent rashness of invading the Illinois, with so small a force. Courts of civil ju. risdiction were likewise established by Clark, which were held by French judges, freely chosen by the people, leaving an ap- peal to Clark. About this time, M. Cere, who was mentioned before, uneasy that his family at Kaskaskia should be the only one placed under a guard, and fearful of venturing into the power of the American officer without a safe conduct; procured the reconunendation of the Spanish Governor at St. Louis, as well as the commandant at St. Genevieve, supported by the in- fluence of the greater part of the citizens, for the purpose of ob- taining this security. It was all in vain; Colonel Clark peremp- torily refused it; and intimated, that he wished to hear no more such applications; that he understood M. Cere was " a sensible man,'' and if he was innocent of the charge of inciting the In- dians against the Americans, he need not be afraid of deliver- ing himself up. This backwardness would only increase tlie suspicion against him. Shortly after this expression of Clark's sentiments, M. Cere to whom they were no doubt communicated, repaired to Kaskaskia, and without visiting his family, imme- diately waited on Colonel Clark; who informed him that the crime with which he stood charged was, encouraging the In- 60 HISTORY OF KE^'TTCKV. dians in their murders and devastations on our own frontiers- An enormity, whose perpetrators, continued the American commander, it behooved every civilized people to punish, whenever they got such violators of the laws of honorable war- fare within their power. To this accusation, M. Cere frankly replied; that he was a mere merchant, and had never been con- cerned in affairs of state beyond what the interests of his busi- ness required; moreover, his remote position had prevented him from understanding the merits of the war, now raging be- tween the United States and Great Britain. He defied, he said, any man to prove, that he had encouraged the Indian barbari- ties; while many could be produced, who had heard him express his disapprobation of all such cruelties; though, at the same time, it was necessary to inform Colonel Clark, that there were numbers indebted to him, who might, by his ruin, seek to dis- charge their pecuniary obligations to him. In fine, this emi- nent French merchant declared his willingness to support the strictest inquiry into the only heinous charge against him. This was every thing the American officer required; he desired M. Cere to retire into another room, while he sent for his accu- sers; they immediately attended, followed by the greater part of the inhabitants. M. Cere was summoned to confront them, the former immediately shewed their confusion at his appearance; the parties were told by Colonel Clark, that he had no disposition to condemn any man unheard; that M. Cere was now present, and he (Clark) was ready to do justice to the civilized world by punishing him if guilty of inciting the Indians to commit their enormities on helpless women and children. The accusers be- gan to whisper to one another and retire: until but one was left of six or seven at first; this person was asked for his proof, but he had none to produce, and M. Cere was honorably ac- quitted, not more to his own satisfaction, than to that of his neighbors and friends. He was then congratulated by Colonel Clark upon his acquittal, and informed, that although his be- coming an American citizen, would be highly acceptable, yet if he did not sincerely wish to do so, he was perfectly at liberty to dispose of his property, and to remove elsewhere. Cere de- HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 61 liorhted at the fair and generous treatment he had met with, immediately took the oath of allegiance, and became a " most valuable" friend to the American cause. So successful was the management of Clark, that whether he bribed, or whether he punished, both methods were made con- ducive to the public interest. In this case, he seems to have kept up an appearance of rigor for the very opportunity of en- hancing the indulgence, he wished and determined to exercise : reserve in favors, was a common feature of his policy. As an exhibition of Colonel Clark's tact in governing under the criti- cal circumstances in which he was placed, this detail has been thought necessary. The narration has now arrived at the com- plete reduction of the French settlements, in the present State of Illinois; not more by the force of arms than by the adroit policy of the American commander, and the good disposition of the inhabitants. The American government, too, was then in alliance with their ancient countrymen, Avhose dominion, no doubt, still clung affectionately round their hearts. In this wav was reduced the ancient town of Kaskaskias, which had been settled two years before the city of Philadelphia, now flourish- ing so nobly under the auspices of American liberty; as dis- tinguished for her fame in learning and in the arts, as she is re- nowned for her virtues and opulence. While to exhibit the fluctuating condition of things, Kaskaskia, her predecessor planted under the protection of a powerful monarchy, numbers but ninety-six persons,* and is almost a deserted village, filled with ruins of the nicest masonry. Colonel Clark, with his brave officers and men, on the 23d of November, 1778, was voted the thanks of the House of Delegates, " for their extraordinary reso- lution and perseverance in so hazardous an enterprise, and for the important services thereby rendered their country." Post St. Vincents still continued to occupy the thoughts of Clark as a point of great importance to the safety of his present position, and to the extension of the Virginia dominion. " It was never" he says, "out of my mind;" it had indeed occupied his thoughts ; it has been seen in his first descent down the Ohio, * Censua of 1830. F 62 HISTORY OF KE>TrcKY. and was only relinquished at that time from his weakness- His early inclinations were revived by his success at Kaskas- kia, and he sent for M. Gibault, the Roman Catholic priest of his village, as well as that of St. Vincents. This gentleman, who subsequently received the public thanks of Virginia for his distinguished services, had been steadily attached to the Ameri- can cause ; he readily gave Colonel Clark every information he desired; told him that Governor Abbot had lately gone on busi- ness to Detroit, and that a military expedition from the Falls ao-ainst St. Vincents, which Clark pretended to raeditatey waa scarcely necessary. He indeed offered, if it met the approba- tion of Colonel Clark, to " take the business on himself, and he had no doubt of his being able to bring that place over to the American interest without" he said, " my being at the trouble of marching against it." Nor is it unfair to believe, that this patriotic priest must have taken into consideration the interests of his parishioners, by endeavoring to save them, if possible, from the chances of military spoil and violence. The generous and equal spirit which, the ancient church of Rome had so rightfully, yet so rarely has met, at the hands c^ Protestant conquerors, and the beneficent administration of Clark, all united, no doubt, to propagate the American influence, and extend its arms. To these offers of M. Gibault, Clark most readily acceded; for it was the fondest wish of his heart, yet he scarcely ventured to believe he should realize it; and, more- over, at the desire of the clergyman, a Dr. Lafont was associated as a temporal member of the embassy. The principal charge was, however, in the hands of M. Gibault. On the 14th of July, the French gentlemen accompanied by a spy of Clark's, an additional security which he seems, scarcely ever to have neg- lected in his enterprises, set off for St. Vincent's, or *0. Post, as it was very often called. After full explanations of the state of affairs between the priest and his flock, in two or three days, the inhabitants threw off the British government, and assem- bling in a body at the church, they, in the most solemn manner, took the oath of allegiance to the commonwealth of Virginia. » A corruption of Au Poste. HISTORr OF KENTUCKY. 63 A commandant was elected, and the American flag immediately displayed over the fort, to the astonishment of the Indians. Thus again fell another of the French villages established about 1745, owing to the pure good will of the inhabitants towards the American government; and another barrier of counteract- ing influence over the barbarous hostilities of the Indians, was gained for Kentucky. The savages were told by their French friends, " that their old Father, the King of France, was come to life again, and was mad with them for fighting for the English ; that if they did not wish the land to be bloody with war, they must make peace with the Americans." About the 1st of August, M. Gibault and party, returned with the joyful intelligence, of having peaceably adjusted every thing at St. Vincents in favor of the American interest; no less to the astonishment of Clark, than to his gratification, and that of the inhabitants of Kaskaskia. A new source of perplexity jiow opened itself on Clark ; it was the expiration of the three months for which his troops had been enlisted. But the discre- tionary powers so wisely lodged with an officer acting on so remote a stage, and under such embarrassing difficulties, de- termined him not to divest himself of the only American {>ower, on which he could rely upon any emergency; and to strain his authority, for the preservation of that interest, for which it was conferred upon him. He, therefore, re-enlisted his men upon a new footing, raised a company among the na- tive inhabitants commanded by their own officers, established a garrison at Kaskaskia under the command of Captain Wil- liams, and another at Cahokia, under that of Captain Bowman. Colonel William Linn, who had accompanied the expedition as a volunteer, now took charge of the troops, who wished to re- turn and was the bearer of orders from Colonel Clark, to es- tablish a fort at the Falls of Ohio. This order was executed by building a stockade fort at the termination of the present Twelfth street, on the easterly side of the large ravine, that opens to the river at that point.* Here was planted the * The fort here mentioned, was in 1782, succeeded by a larger one, built by the rejular troops assisted by the militia from all the settled parts of the district. It was situated be- 64 HISTORY OP KENTUCKY. thrifty germ of Louisville, now the emporium of Kentucky, and which seems fairly destined to grow with the countless pros- perity of this great republic, with whose remotest commerce and continued union, she is vitally connected. Captain John Montgomery was despatched to Richmond, in charge of M. Rocheblave, the British commandant of Kaskaskia. In regard to this officer, who expressed himself with great bitterness of the Americans, and the natives who had sided with them. Colonel Clark exerted himself very much, to pi'o- cure a restoration to Mrs. Rocheblave, of his slaves, that had been seized as public plunder. This was attempted by inviting him to a dinner with some of the officers, as well as with his acquaintance, where this restitution was, it seems, to have been offered; but it Avas entirely frustrated by the violent and insulting language of the former commandant; he called them a parcel of rebels, and provoked such indignation that he was immediately sent to the guard house ; all further thoughts of sav- ing his slaves were now abandoned. They were subsequently sold for the amount of five hundred pounds, and the proceeds divided among the troops as prize money. The Governor of Vir- ginia was informed of the whole of Clark's proceedings, and the appointment of a civil commandant was desired by him, who should take charge of the political afl'airs of this secluded portion of the commonwealth. In consequence of this recommendation, an act was passed in October, 1778, establishing the county of Illinois, and embracing within its boundary all the chartered limits of Virginia, west of the Ohio river. There was also au- thorized the raising of a regiment of five hundred men, and the opening communications with New Orleans for their support. twccn llio prrscnl Sixth niid KigliUi strpcts, on tlir iiortlicrn sido of Main street, immedi- ately on the I'link ofthe river. In honor of tlie third repnhliraii (5ovcrnor of Virginia, the fort vvasrallcd Fort Nelson. Hcventh street passed tlnonch tlie lirst gate opposite to the head quarters of General Clarli Tlie principal military defence in this part of the country deserves n few more partiiularp. It contained aliont an acre of ground, and was snrroun;erted in the middle liy n row of sharp picltels; this ditih was surmounted hy a breast work of log pens or enclosures, tilled with the cartli obtainc d from tlie ditch, with pickets ten fi^et bigli planted on the toji of tlie breast work. Next to the river, pickets alone x\(Me deemed siillicient, aided by tlic long slope ofthe river liank. t^ome of the ri mains of these pirkets were dug up in the Huninicr of IHIi'.', in excavating the cellar of Mr. John Love's stores on Main street, oppo- site to the J.ouisnillc Ilniel. Tlierc was artillery in the fort, particularly a double forti- fied brass piece, wliici) was captured by Chirk at Vincennes. Tliis piece played no in- considerable part in the military operations of this period, infignificaiit as it may op|K;ar to the eyes of o regular military critic. MiSTORV OP Kentucky. 65 Colonel John Todd, who afterwards lost his life with so much regret, at the battle of the Blue Licks, received the appointment of civil commandant and Lieutenant Colonel of the county; a mark of much honorable confidence in a new and distant pro- vince of Virginia. About the middle of August, Captain Leon- ard Helm was appointed by Colonel Clark commandant at St. V'incents, and " agent for Indian affairs in the department of the Wabash." This oflicer was particularly recommended to Clark for his knowledge of the department, and by the general prudence of his character. As Clark intended to place a strong garrison at this post, when the, reinforcements, which he ex- pected from Virginia should arrive. Captain Helm was made fully acquainted with his plans, and received his utmost con- fidence. Near the post of St. Vincents, there was a chief by the name of Tobacco's son whose name appears in the deed to the Wti- bash Company in 1775, as Tabac* This chief was compli mented by his countrymen with the title of the Grand Door of the Wabash, as the Great Ponliac or Pondiac, used to be called the Grand Door of St. Joseph's; and nothing of impor- tance respecting the Wabash country was undertaken with- out the consent of the former chief. To conciliate him and win over his influence, Captain Helm was instructed to use every exertion: messages had indeed been interchano-ed bv Colonel Clark with this chief, through M. Gibault, on his late mission. This intercourse was renewed by Captain Helm, soon after his arrival at St. Vincents, where he was received by acclamation on the part of the people. In an Indian council opened by the American agent with the Grand Door, he deliv- ered him a friendly talk from Colonel Clark, inviting him to unite with the Big Knife, and his old Father, the King of France. To this letter, with the usual circumspection of the Indian cha- racter, the chief declined giving an answer, until he had assem- bled his councillors; although he was glad to see one of the Bio- Knife chiefs. It was true, he had fought together with the Eng- lish, yet he had thought they always looked gloomy; in all thi.- * Land Law of ttic United States, 940. F * 66 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKY. intercourse, the Grand Door observed the ceremony of the most courtly dignity, in which he was exactly followed by Captain Helm ; so that it was several days, before the council was con- cluded. At length Captain Helm was invited to attend a meet- ing of the chiefs, in Avhich Tobacco's son informed him, that " the sky had been very dark with the war between the Big Knife and the English; but now it was cleared up. The Big Knife was in the right, and perhaps if the English conquered them, they might serve the Indians in the same way.*" Tobacco then jumped up, struck his breast, and said, " he had always been a man and a warrior, and now he was a Big Knife, and would tell the Red people to bloody the land no more for the English ;" he then shook Captain Helm by the hand, and his example was followed by all his chiefs to the great advantage of the whites. This chief is said to have remained a true friend to the Ameri- cans, until his death; which happened about two years after, when, at his desire, he was buried with the honors of war, near the fort of Cahokia. The conduct of Tobacco had a wide in- fluence over the chiefs on the Wabash as high as the Weanti- non, Ouatanon, or old Wea towns, all of whom followed the example of their Grand Door, in making peace with the Ameri- cans. These negotiations, together wtth others equally impor- tant effected by Colonel Clark at Cahokia, in a short time under- mined the British influence through a large portion of these regions. The co-operation of the French interest was essen- tially productive of these valuable results; the Indians implicitly confided in their representations, and through them, the Indians became thoroughly alarmed at the power of the Americans. The treaties held by Clark commenced about the 1st of Septem- ber, and were conducted with a dignity and cfliciency, as well as attended with such remarkable circumstances as to deserve a place in this history. Colonel Clark had always thought the policy of inviting the Indians to treat, was founded in a mistaken estimate of their character; they always interpreted, he believed, such invita- tions as evidences either of fear or weakness, or both. He, therefore, studiously avoided every invitation of the sort; and iriSTOKY OP KENTUCKY. 67 Waited for the Indians to request a treaty; while he fought them fiercely and energetically until they did so. He had, moreover, made himself intimately acquainted with the French and Spanish modes of treating the Indians, and had long been devoted to the study of the Indian character. In consequence of this, he determined to guard against spoiling the Indians, as had been too much the case with the English at treaties; and to use the strictest reserve, and grant presents with a nig- gardly hand, as wrung from him, rather than as spontaneous and willing gratifications. The ceremonies of this first and ancient council of our countrymen, with these remote sons of die forest, are worth recording. The various parties were as- sembled, white and red; the chief who was to open the council, as the Indians were the solicitors, advanced to the table at which Colonel Clark was sitting, '• with the belt of peace in his hand, another with the sacred pipe; and a third, with fire to kindle it; after the pipe was lighted, it was presented to the heavens, then to the earth, and completing a circle, was presented to all the spirits, invoking them to witness what was about to be done. The pipe was now presented to Colonel Clark, and afterwards to every person present.-' After these formalities the speaker addressed himself to the Indians, as follows: "Warriors, you ought to be thankful that the Great Spirit has taken pity on you, has cleared the sky, and opened your ears and hearts, so that you may hear the truth. We have been deceived by bad birds flying through the land, (meaning the British emissaries;) but we will take up the bloody hatchet no more against the Big Knife ; and we hope, that as the Great Spirit iias brought us together for good, as he is good, so we may be received as friends ; and peace may take the place of the bloody belt." The speaker then threw in the middle of the room, the bloody belt of wampum, and flags, which they had received from the Bri- tish, and stamped upon them in token of their rejection. To this address, Clark very guardedly and distantly replied, that " He had paid attention to what had been said, and would the next day give them an answer, when he hoped the hearts of all people would be ready to receive the truth; but he recom- 68 HKTORY OP KENTUCKY. mended them to keep prepared for the result of this council, upon which their very existence as nations depended. He de- sired them not to let any of our people shake hands with them, as peace was not yet made; and it was time enough to give the hand, when the heart could be given also. " An Indian chief replied, that " such sentiments were like men, who had but one heart, and did not speak with a forked tongue." The council then rose until the next day, when Clark delivered the follow- ing address to the assembled Indians, which is taken literally from the memoirs of Colonel Clark. " Men and warriors : Pay attention to my words. You informed me yesterday, that the Great Spirit had brought us together, and that you hoped, that as he was good, it would be for good. I have also the same hope, and expect that each party will strictly adhere to whatever may be agreed upon, whether it shall be peace or war; and henceforward prove ourselves worthy of the attention of the Great Spirit. I am a man and a warrior, not a council- lor; I carry war in my right hand, and in my left, peace. I am sent by the Great Council of the Big Knife, and their friends, to take possession of all the towns possessed by the English in this country, and to watch the motions of the Red people : to bloody the paths of those who attempt to stop the course of the river; but to clear the roads from us to those, that desire to be in peace; that the women and children may walk in them with- out meeting any thing to strike their feet against. I am ordered to call upon the Great Fire for warriors enougli to darken the land, and that the Red people may hear no sound, but of birds who live on blood. I know there is a mist before your eyes; I will dispel the clouds, that you may clearly sec the causes of the war between the Big Knife and the English; then you may judge for yourselves, which party is in the right; and if you arc warriors, as you profess yourselves to be, prove it by ad- hering faithfully to the party, which you shall believe to be en- titled to your friendship, and not shew yourselves to be squaws. The Big Knife is very much like the Red people, they don't know how to make blankets, and powder, and cloth; they buy these things from the English, from whom they are sprung. HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 69 They live by making corn, hunting and trade, as you and your neighbors, the French, do. But the Big Knife daily getting more numerous, like the trees in the woods, the land became poor, and hunting^ scarce; and having but little to trade with, the women began to cry at seeing their children naked, and tried to learn how to make clothes for themselves; soon made blankets for their husbands and children; and the men learned to make guns and powder. In this way we did not want to buy so much from the English; they then got mad with us, and sent strong garrisons through our country (as you see they have done among you on the lakes , and among the French ;) they would not let our women spin, nor our men make powder, nor let us trade with any body else. The English said, we should buy every thing from them, and since we had got saucy, we should give two bucks for a blanket, which we used to get for one; we should do as they pleased, and they killed some of our people, to make the rest fear them. This is the truth, and tho real cause of the war between the English and us ; which did not take place for some time after this treatment. But our women became cold and hungry, and continued to cry; our young men got lost for want of counsel to put them in the right path. The whole land was dark, the old men held down their heads for shame, because they could not see the sun, and thus there was mourning for many years over the land. At last the Great Spirit took pity on us, and kindled a great council Fire, that never goes out, at a place called Philadelphia; he then stuck down a post, and put a war tomahawk by it, and went away. The sun immediately broke out, the sky was blue again, and the old men held up their heads, and assembled at the fire ; they took up the hatchet, sharpened it, and put it into the hands of our young men, ordering them to strike the English, as long as they could find one on this side of the great waters. The young men imme- diately struck the war post, and blood was shed: in this way the war began, and the English were driven from one place to another, until they got weak, and then they hired you Red people to fight for them. The Great Spirit got angry at this, and caused your old Father, the French King, and other great 70 HISTORY OF JiENTUCKY. nations to join the Big Knife, and fight with them against all their enepiies. So the English have become like a deer in the woods ; and you may see that it is the Great Spirit, that has caused your waters to be troubled; because you have fought for the people, he was mad with. If your women and chil- dren should now cry, you must blame yourselves for it, and not tlie Big Knife. You can now judge who is in the right; I have already told you who I am; here is a bloody belt, and a white one, take which you please. Behave like men, and don't let your being surrounded by the Big Knife, cause you to take up the one belt with your hands, while your hearts take up the other. If you take the bloody path, you shall leave the town in safety, and may go and join your friends, the English; we will theu try like warriors, who can put the most stumbling blocks ia each others' way, and keep our clothes longest stained with, blood. If, on the other hand, you should take the path of peace, and be received as brothers to the Big Knife, with their friends, the French, should you then listen to bad birds, that may be flying through the land, you will no longer de serve to be count- ed as men; but as creatures with two tongues, that ought to be destroyed without listening to any thing you might say. As I tim convinced you have never heard the truth before, I do not wish you to answer before you have taken time to counsel. Wc will, therefore, part this evening, and when the Great Spirit shall bring us together again, let us speak and think like men with but one heart and one tongue." The next day after this speech, a new fire was kindled with more than usual cere- mony, and the Indian speaker came forward, and said, " They ought to be thankful that the Great Spirit had taken pity on them, and opened their ears and hearts to receive the truth. He had paid great attention to what the Great Spirit had put into my heart to say to them. They believed the whole to be the truth, as the Big Knife did not speak like any other people, they had ever heard. They now saw they had been deceived, and that llie English had told them lies, and that I had told them the truth; just as some of their old men had always told them. They now believed, that we were in the right, and as the Eng- HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 71 lish had forts in their country they might, if they got strong enough, want to serve the Red people, as they had treated the Big Knife. The Red people ought, therefore, to help us, and they had with a cheerful heart taken up the belt of peace, and spurned tliat of war; they were determined to hold the former fast, and would have no doubt of our friendship from the manner of our speaking, so different from that of the English. They would now call in their warriors, and threw the tomahawk into the river, where it could never be found ; they would suffer no more bad birds to fly through the land disquieting the women and children. Thev would be careful to smooth the roads for their brothers, the Big Knife, whenever they might wish to come and see them. Their friends should hear of the good talk I had given them, and they hoped I would send chiefs among them with my eyes, to see myself that they were men, and strictly adhered to all they had said at this great fire ; which the great spirit had kin- dled at Cohokia, for the good of all people who Avould attend it." The pipe was again kindled, and presented to all the spirits, as witnesses of the transactions ; it was smoked, and the coun- cil concluded by shaking hands among all the parties, White and Red. In this manner, with very little variety, treaties were concluded with many tribes, and in all with a dignity and im- portance in their eyes, little inferior, to that of the alliance be. tween the United States and France, in ours. Colonel Clark adhered resolutely to a determination of not appearing to caress them; and he even apologized for making the few presents he did confer, by attributing them to the great way they had travelled, having expended their ammunition, and worn out their mockasons and leggins. The Indian tribes were aenerallv so much alarmed, that the conclusion of peace, not. withstanding Clark's rcserv e and disdain, gave them perfect satisfaction. This state of mind was confirmed by the report of the spies whom Colonel Clark kept among all his new allies; as well as the less doubtful nations. So well consolidated was his influence, that a single .soldier could be sent in safety among 72 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. the Indians, through any part of the Wabash and Illinois coun- try, to the heads of the waters discharging themselves into the lakes, and into the Mississippi. Here the British still maintained their influence; indeed many tribes were divided between them and the Americans. Such a sudden and extensive change amonor the Indians in our favor, is to be mainly attributed to the friendly dispositions of the French traders and agents, supported, however, by the stern and commanding influence of Colonel Clark. It required all his tact, united with the control and co- operation of the French, to preserve that impression, which he had made at first, while at the head of so inadequate a force. Accordino-ly, the prospect of reinforcements from the Falls was constantly held out, and every means adopted to attach our new fellow-citizens to the American government. No fees was exacted by the commanding officers, or in the weekly courts which were occupied by the business and disputes of the people; a contrast most favorable to American influence. The friendly correspondence with the Spanish government, and the permission of some trade with agents, even from Canada, all contributed to maintain a controling influence over the savages. An incident occurred during the Indian negotiations of no little romantic character. A party of Indians, composed of strag- glers from various tribes, by the name of Meadow Indians, who had accompanied the other tribes, and been promised a great reward if they would kill Colonel Clark. For this purpose, they had pitched their camp about a hundred yards from Clark's quarters ; and about the same distance in front of the fort, on the same side of Cahokia creek, with the one occupied by the Americans, This creek was about knee deep at the time of the transaction, and a plot was formed for some of these Indians to pass the creek after night, fire their guns in the direction of the Indians on the other side of the creek, and then fly to Colo- nel Clark's quarters; where they were to seek admission, on pretence of fleeing from their enemies, and put Colonel Clark and the garrison to death. About one o'clock in the morning, while Colonel Clark was still awake with the multiplied cares of his extraordinary situation, the attempt was made ; and the History op Kentucky. 73 flying party having discharged their guns, so as to throw suspi- cion on the other Indians 5 came running to the American camp for protection, as they said, from their enemies who had attacked them from across the creek. This, the guard which proved to be in greater force than was anticipated, prevented by present- ing their pieces at the fugitives ; who were compelled to return to their own camp. The whole town and garrison were now im- mediately under arms, and these Indians, whom the guard had recognized by the moonlight, were sent for, and on l)eing ex- amined, they declared it was their enemies, v/ho had fired upon them from across the creek; and that they had sought shelter among the Americans. Some of the French gentlemen who knew these Indians, better than the new conquerors, called for a light, and discovered their mockasons and Icggins to be quite wet and muddy, from having passed the creek, over to the friendly camps. This discovery quite confounded the assas- sins; and as there were a great many Indians of other tribes in town, Clark thought the opportunity favorable to convince them of the .strictest union between the Americans and the French: he, therefore, surrendered the culprits to the French, to do what they pleased with them. Secret intimations were, however, given, that the chiefs ought to be sent to the guard house in irons; which were immediately executed. In this manacled condition, they were brought everyday into the council; but not suffered to speak until all the other business was transacted; when Colonel Clark ordered their irons to be taken off, and told them, " every body said they ought to die for their treacher- ous attempt upon his life, amidst the sacred deliberations of a council. He had determined to inflict death upon them fur their base attempt, and they themselves must be sensible that Ihev had justly forfeited their lives; but on considering the mean- ness of watching a bear and catching him asleep, he had found out that they were not warriors, only old women, and too mean to be killed by the Big Knife. But as you ought to be punished for putting on a breech cloths like men, they shall be taken away from you, plenty of provisions shall be given you for your journey home; as women don't know how to hunt, and during vour stav, G 74 HISTORY OF KENTUCKT. von shall be treated in every respect, as squaws." Then, with- out taking any further notice of these offenders, Colonel Clark turned off and began to converse with other persons: this treat- ment appeared to agitate the offending Indians to their very hearts. In a short time one of their chiefs arose with a pipe and belt of peace, which he offered to Clark, and made a speech; but at that time he would not suffer it to be interpreted, and a sword lying on the table, he took it up and indignantly broke the pipe, which had been laid before him, declaring, the Big Knife never treated with women. Several chiefs of other tribes now interfered to procure the pardon of the Meadow Indians, and to solicit Colonel Clark to pity the families of these men, and grant them peace. Still the American officer profoundly alive to the vulnerable features of the Indian character, told them, "the Big Knife had never made war upon these Indians; and that whenever Americans came across such people in the woods, they commonly shot them, as they did wolves, to pre- vent their eating the deer." This mediation having failed, the offending tribe appeared busy in conversation among them- selves; when suddenly two of their young men advanced into the middle of the floor, saf down, and flung their blankets over their heads, to the astonishment of the whole assembly. When two chiefs arose, and with a pipe of peace, stood by the side of these victims, and offered their lives to Colonel Clark, as an atone- ment for the offence of their tribe ; this sacrifice they hoped would a])pcase the Big Knife, and they again offered the pipe. Clark v.ould not yet admit a reconciliation with them; but directed them in a milder tone than before, to be seated ; for he would have noth- ing to say to them. " The alarm of these people appeared," said Clark, " wrought up to so high a degree, that they appear- ed to think the tomahawk was suspended over the heads of every one of their tribe; and that nothing but peace could save tjiem." They thought that by putting these two young men to death, or keeping them as slaves, our countrymen might be reconciled. The offered victims kept their position, only now •ami then putting out their heads, as if impatient to know their fate. This affecting and romantic incident embarrassed the HISTORV OF KENTUCKY. tO ready miod even of Clark; he had always, he says, intended to be persuaded to grant these Indians peace, but with a reluc- tance, that should enhance its value. The assembly was all silence and suspense with anxiety, to know the fate of the vic- tims; while Colonel Clark, deeply affected with the magnanimity of these rude children of the forest, declares, " he never felt so powerful a gush of emotion over his mind, or ever so capable of speaking from the impulse of that feeling." He ordered the young men to arise and uncover themselves; he then said, " lie rejoiced to find, that there were men in all nations; that these two young warriors, (pointing to the victims.) had been ollered by their tribe, Avere at least a proof for their own countrymen. Such characters were alone fit to be chiefs, and with such, he liked to treat; through them the Bi;f Knife granted p.eacc to their tribe, and he took them by the hand, as the chiefs of their tribes." They v.ere immediately introduced (with no slight change of countenance, which they could not with all their efforts entirely suppress) to the American officers, as well as to the French and Spanish gentlemen, who were present; and lastly to the other Indian chiefs. They were saluted by all, a^ chiefs of their tribe, and Clark immediately held, with great ceremony, a council, in which peace was settled with their people, and presents granted to distribute among their friends. Colonel Clark was afterwards informed, that these young men were held in high esteem by their people ; and that the Ameri- cans were much talked of, on account of this incident. Colonel Clark now turned his attention to Saguina, or Black- bird and Nakioun,two chiefs of the Sotairs and Ottoway tribes, bordering on lake Michigan. The former of these chiefs had been in St. Louis, when Clark first invaded the country, and not trusting to Spanish protection, had returned to his tribe; though he had sent a letter to Clark, apologising for his absence. He was found on inquiry to possess so much mfiiience over considerable bands about the St. Joseph's, of Lake Michigan; that Colonel Clark departed from his usual distant policy, and invited him by a special messenger, to come to Kaskaskia. The invitation was immediately complied with, and Black Bird visit- 76 HISTORY OF KENTUCKV. ed Colonel Clark with only eight attendants. After the party had recovered from their fatigue, preparations were made as usual for a council with the ceremonies generally practised. These were no sooner noticed by this sagacious chief, than he informed Colonel Clark, that he came on business of importance to both, and desired that no time might be lost on ceremonies. This chief declared he wanted much conversation with Colonel Clark, and would prefer silting at the same table with him to all the parade and formality which could be used. Accordingly a room was prepared for this straight forward and direct chief, and his American cotemporary : they both took their seats at the same table, having interpreters seated to their right and left. Black Bird opened the conference by saying, " he had long wished to enjoy a conversation with a chief of our nation: he had conversed with prisoners, but he could not confide in them; for they seemed to be afraid to speak the truth. That he had engaged in the war against us, was true; although doubts of its justice always crossed his mind, owing to our ap- pearing to be the same nation with the British. Some mystery hung over the matter, which he wanted removed: his anxiety was to hear both sides, while he had hitherto, only been able to hear one." Clark readily undertook to satisfy this inquisi- tive chief, and compelled as he was to employ similes for so many ideas, foreign to barbarous society, it took him nearly half a day to answer the inquiries of the Indian. This was accom- plished to his entire satisfaction, and he expre?sed himself con- vinced, that the Americans were perfectly right; he was glad that their old friends, the French, had united their arms with ours, and the Indians ought to do the same. But as we did not wish this, his countrymen, he thought, ought at least to be neu- tral. He was convinced the English must be afraid, because fhcy gave the Indians so many goods to fight for them; his sen- timents, he said, were fixed in our favor; and he would no longer listen to the offers of the English. He would put an end to the war, and would call his young men in, as soon as he could get home and have an opportunity of explaining the nature of the war to them. HISTORY OP KENTUCKY. 77 This display of the chief's sentiments, may well be con- ceived, to have given Clark the utmost satisfaction; and he promised to write to the Governor of Virginia respecting his friendly conduct, and to have him registered among the friends of the Big Knife. In a few days the chief set otf for his native forests, accompanied at his desire, by an agent of Clark. A couple of pack-horses were loaded with provisions and presents for this sagacious and sensible Indian, who continued a faithful friend to American interests. There was a point of no little policy observed by Clark, in his conferences with the Indians at this time; it was not to blame the Indians for taking British presents, which in their poverty and our inability to supply their wants, was unavoida- ble. The influence of commerce has spread to the remotest wilds of the earth, and bound alike in her golden chains, the citizen of refined society, and the barbarian of the woods. The rifle and its ammunition have long banished the bow and other ruder instruments of war, among the Indians contiguous to the whites; and the beaver trap, the camp-kettle, and the blanket, in addition to a thousand wants of his fancy; have rendered trade and arts, as necessary to the Indian, as to the civilized man. Illustrations of this truth are presented in the story of all uncivilized people.* Bat Clark exerted his utmost influence to impress the Indians with the degradation of fighting for hire; that it was beneath the dignity of a warrior. " The Big Knife,*' he said, " looked upon the scalps of warriors fighting their own battles, as the greatest trophies of war; but those of men fight^ ing for hire, were given to children to play with, or flung to the dogs." This language, stern as it may seem, had the best effect upon these barbarous tribes; who were never under more effec- tual influence, than under Colonel Clark. About this time he received a letter from a celebrated chief by the name of Lajes, or Logos; also known by the appellaUon of Big Gate. This chief, who being a boy when the great Pon- * See tins subject beautifully traced in the "Ris:hts of Industry," one of the inesiini.v ble vohmici of popular iiistruciion, wliicli liavc enianaicJ from a British society adornin;. aud adorned l)y tlicir great modern Cliancellor. G* 78 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKT. tiac besieged Detroit, had shot a British soldier standing in the fort; from this circumstance, his title had been given to him. Several parties had been very successfully commanded by this warrior against our frontiers; but happening to fall in with a party of Piankeshaws coming to Kaskaskia, he determined to come and see what our countrymen had to say for themselves. With no little assurance, he appeared every day in council, seated in the front of the room, dressed in a full war dress ; and the bloody belt, which he had received from the British, hang- ing about his neck. In this condition, he attended the council for several days, without saying a word to our countrymen, or they saying any thing to him; at length, at the close of the de- liberations with the tribes, who were in attendance; Clark addressed this silent chief, by apologising for not noticing him, until the public business was despatched. " That although they were enemies," said the American officer, " still it was cus- tomary among the whites, when they met in this way to treat each other in proportion to the exploits in war, which they had performed against each other." On this account, as he was a great warrior. Colonel Clark invited him to dinner. This, the chief, taken by the utmost surprise, endeavored to decline; Colo- nel Clark would not, however, regard his excuses; but as soon as he would begin them, Clark would renew his solicitations, and express his determination to take no refusal, until he worked up the Indian to the utmost pitch of excitement. Roused in this manner, he stepped into the middle of the room, threw down his war belt, and a little British Hag that he had in his bosom, and tore off all his clothes, but l-.is breech clo'ji. When thus despoiled of the presents of his late favorites, he struck himself on the breast, and told the audience, "They knew he had been a warrior from his youth, that he had delighted in bat- tle, he had been three times against the Big Knife, for the Bri- tish had told him lies; he had been preparing for another war party, when he had heard of Colonel Clark's arrival, and he determined to rest himself, and hear what the Americans could say in their defence. He was satisfied the Big Knife was in the right; and as a man and a warrior, he ought not to fight HISTORY OF KEXTCCKY. 79 any longer in a bad cause; he was henceforth a Big Knife, and he shook hands with Colonel Clark and his officers, and saluted them as brothers." The drollery of the matter was, tliat the new brother was naked, and he must be clothed; ac- cordingly a fine laced suit was procured for him, and he was dressed in all the finery of military parade. Shortly after this entertainment, Lages desired a private interview with Colonel Clark; in this, he detailed a full account of the situation of De- troit, and he offered his services to the Colonel, to obtain a scalp or a prisoner. The former Clark declined, upon the ge- neral principle of discouraging the barbarities of the Indians, and our desire to keep them still; a course of conduct, which has ever proved most fruitless to our countrymen, and in* many instances hvs united the Indians with our less scrupu- lous enemies. Clark assured him of his readiness to receive a prisoner; but charged him by no means to use such a one ill. On tlie chief's taking leave, Clark presented him with a Cap- tain's commission and a medal, to secure the agency of this new political missionary. CHAPTER V. Recapture of St. Vincents by the British — Plans a;ainst Americans — French volunteers— Starch to St. Vincenls— Capture— Retarn to Kif^kaskia. After all this success with the Indians, Colonel Clark be^an to entertain great apprehensions for St. Vincents; no news had been received for a considerable length of time from that place, till on the S'Jth of January, 1779, Colonel Vigo, then a merchant in partnership with the Governor of St. Louis, now a venerable and highly respected citizen of Vincennes, brought intelligence, that Governor Hamilton had marched an expedi- tion from Detroit, which had, in December captured St. Vin- cents, and again reduced it under the power of the British.* t There is an ancdoterespscliiiiCaptninTieoriaril He!mcvi.irinian intrepidity which, would ill 1)P omitted, it has been coinmunicaioil to the author, ihrouili tlie friendly interest of Judije (ynderwood, and liis venerable re'ative, Ednnind Rotors, t;*q., of Barren county, a brother of Ca;)taiii Jo!in Rogers, and persj tally iutunatc witli Clark and hisolfirers fjr 80 HISTORY OP KENTUCKY. Owing to the advanced stage of the season, he had postponed his operations against Kaskaskia, and in order to keep his rest- less auxiliaries employed, whom he had brought with him to the number of about four hundred, he had detached some against the settlements of Kentucky, and others to watch the Ohio river. In the spring, he contemplated re-assembling his forces for a grand campaign which should first be directed against Kaskaskia. At this point, "which he had no doubt of carrying, he was to be joined by two hundred Indians from Michillimakinack, and five hundred Cherokees, Chickasaws and other tribes." With this force united to his own. Governor Hamilton had or- ders from the commander-in-chief in Canada, "to penetrate up the Ohio to Fort Pitt, sicecping Kentucky on his way and taking light brass cannon for the purpose. So flushed was the British commander with the hopes of conquest, that he made no doubt, he could force all VVest Augusta, (meaning the western part of Virginia adjoining the Blue Ridge.*") The same respected gcntlcmant informed him, that Governor Hamilton had not more than eighty men in garrison, three pieces of cannon, and some swivels mounted. With the promptitude inspired by his emi- nent genius for war, our daring commander determined, like his most appropriate original, tlie great Hannibal, to carry the war into the enemy's country — As Clark said, "I knew if I did not take him, he would take me." He immediately fitted up a large Mississippi boat as a galley, mounting two four pounders and four swivels, (obtained from the enemy's fort at Kaskaskia,) which he placed under the command of Captain John Rogers, years. It is as follows: wlinn Governor Uamillo" (Mitorod Vinror.ncs, tlicrc were but two Anieriranslherfi.Ciiptain II