pioneers of the old southwest-第1部分

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Pioneers　of　the　Old　Southwest

A　Chronicle　of　the　Dark　and　Bloody　Ground


by　Constance　Lindsay　Skinner







Acknowledgment


This　narrative　is　founded　largely　on　original　sourceson　the
writings　and　journals　of　pioneers　and　contemporary　observers；
such　as　Doddridge　and　Adair；　and　on　the　public　documents　of　the
period　as　printed　in　the　Colonial　Records　and　in　the　American
Archives。　But　the　author　is；　nevertheless；　greatly　indebted　to
the　researches　of；　other　writers；　whose　works　are　cited　in　the
Bibliographical　Note。　The　author's　thanks　are　due；　also；　to　Dr。
Archibald　Henderson；　of　the　University　of　North　Carolina；　for　his
kindness　in　reading　the　proofs　of　this　book　for　comparison　with
his　own　extended　collection　of　unpublished　manuscripts　relating
to　the　period。

C。　L。　S。

April；　1919。





CONTENTS

I。　THE　TREAD　OF　PIONEERS
II。　FOLKWAYS
III。　THE　TRADER
IV。　THE　PASSING　OF　THE　FRENCH　PERIL
V。　BOONE；　THE　WANDERER
VI。　THE　FIGHT　FOR　KENTUCKY
VII。　THE　DARK　AND　BLOODY　GROUND　VIII。　TENNESSEE
IX。　KING'S　MOUNTAIN
X。　SEVIER；　THE　STATEMAKER
XI。　BOONE'S　LAST　DAYS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL　NOTE





Pioneers　Of　The　Old　Southwest

Chapter　I。　The　Tread　Of　Pioneers

The　Ulster　Presbyterians；　or　〃Scotch…Irish；〃　to　whom　history　has　ascribed　the　dominant　role　among　the　pioneer　folk　of　the　Old　Southwest；　began　their　migrations　to　America　in　the　latter　years　of　the　seventeenth　century。　It　is　not　known　with　certainty　precisely　when　or　where　the　first　immigrants　of　their　race　arrived　in　this　country；　but　soon　after　1680　they　were　to　be　found　in　several　of　the　colonies。　It　was　not　long；　indeed；　before　they　were　entering　in　numbers　at　the　port　of　Philadelphia　and　were　making　Pennsylvania　the　chief　center　of　their　activities　in　the　New　World。　By　1726　they　had　established　settlements　in　several　counties　behind　Philadelphia。　Ten　years　later　they　had　begun　their　great　trek　southward　through　the　Shenandoah　Valley　of　Virginia　and　on　to　the　Yadkin　Valley　of　North　Carolina。　There　they　met　others　of　their　own　racebold　men　like　themselves；　hungry　after　landwho　were　coming　in　through　Charleston　and　pushing　their　way　up　the　rivers　from　the　seacoast　to　the　〃Back　Country；〃　in　search　of　homes。

These　Ulstermen　did　not　come　to　the　New　World　as　novices　in　the　shaping　of　society；　they　had　already　made　history。　Their　ostensible　object　in　America　was　to　obtain　land；　but；　like　most　external　aims；　it　was　secondary　to　a　deeper　purpose。　What　had　sent　the　Ulstermen　to　America　was　a　passion　for　a　whole　freedom。　They　were　lusty　men；　shrewd　and　courageous；　zealous　to　the　death　for　an　ideal　and　withal　so　practical　to　the　moment　in　business　that　it　soon　came　to　be　commonly　reported　of　them　that　〃they　kept　the　Sabbath　and　everything　else　they　could　lay　their　hands　on；〃　though　it　is　but　fair　to　them　to　add　that　this　phrase　is　current　wherever　Scots　dwell。　They　had　contested　in　Parliament　and　with　arms　for　their　own　form　of　worship　and　for　their　civil　rights。　They　were　already　frontiersmen；　trained　in　the　hardihood　and　craft　of　border　warfare　through　years　of　guerrilla　fighting　with　the　Irish　Celts。　They　had　pitted　and　proved　their　strength　against　a　wilderness；　they　had　reclaimed　the　North　of　Ireland　from　desolation。　For　the　time；　many　of　them　were　educated　men；　under　the　regulations　of　the　Presbyterian　Church　every　child　was　taught　to　read　at　an　early　age；　since　no　person　could　be　admitted　to　the　privileges　of　the　Church　who　did　not　both　understand　and　approve　the　Presbyterian　constitution　and　discipline。　They　were　brought　up　on　the　Bible　and　on　the　writings　of　their　famous　pastors；　one　of　whom；　as　early　as　1650；　had　given　utterance　to　the　democratic　doctrine　that　〃men　are　called　to　the　magistracy　by　the　suffrage　of　the　people　whom　they　govern；　and　for　men　to　assume　unto　themselves　power　is　mere　tyranny　and　unjust　usurpation。〃　In　subscribing　to　this　doctrine　and　in　resisting　to　the　hilt　all　efforts　of　successive　English　kings　to　interfere　in　the　election　of　their　pastors；　the　Scots　of　Ulster　had　already　declared　for　democracy。

It　was　shortly　after　James　VI　of　Scotland　became　James　I　of　England　and　while　the　English　were　founding　Jamestown　that　the　Scots　had　first　occupied　Ulster；　but　the　true　origin　of　the　Ulster　Plantation　lies　further　back；　in　the　reign　of　Henry　VIII；　in　the　days　of　the　English　Reformation。　In　Henry's　Irish　realm　the　Reformation；　though　proclaimed　by　royal　authority；　had　never　been　accomplished；　and　Henry's　more　famous　daughter；　Elizabeth；　had　conceived　the　plan；　later　to　be　carried　out　by　James；　of　planting　colonies　of　Protestants　in　Ireland　to　promote　loyalty　in　that　rebellious　land。　Six　counties；　comprising　half　a　million　acres；　formed　the　Ulster　Plantation。　The　great　majority　of　the　colonists　sent　thither　by　James　were　Scotch　Lowlanders；　but　among　them　were　many　English　and　a　smaller　number　of　Highlanders。　These　three　peoples　from　the　island　of　Britain　brought　forth；　through　intermarriage；　the　Ulster　Scots。

The　reign　of　Charles　I　had　inaugurated　for　the　Ulstermen　an　era　of　persecution。　Charles　practically　suppressed　the　Presbyterian　religion　in　Ireland。　His　son；　Charles　II；　struck　at　Ireland　in　1666　through　its　cattle　trade；　by　prohibiting　the　exportation　of　beef　to　England　and　Scotland。　The　Navigation　Acts；　excluding　Ireland　from　direct　trade　with　the　colonies；　ruined　Irish　commerce；　while　Corporation　Acts　and　Test　Acts　requiring　conformity　with　the　practices　of　the　Church　of　England　bore　heavily　on　the　Ulster　Presbyterians。

It　was　largely　by　refugees　from　religious　persecution　that　America　in　the　beginning　was　colonized。　But　religious　persecution　was　only　one　of　the　influences　which　shaped　the　course　and　formed　the　character　of　the　Ulster　Scots。　In　Ulster；　whither　they　had　originally　been　transplanted　by　James　to　found　a　loyal　province　in　the　midst　of　the　King's　enemies；　they　had　done　their　work　too　well　and　had　waxed　too　powerful　for　the　comfort　of　later　monarchs。　The　first　attacks　upon　them　struck　at　their　religion；　but　the　subsequent　legislative　acts　which　successively　ruined　the　woolen　trade；　barred　nonconformists　from　public　office；　stifled　Irish　commerce；　pronounced　non…Episcopal　marriages　irregular；　and　instituted　heavy　taxation　and　high　rentals　for　the　land　their　fathers　had　made　productivethese　were　blows　dealt　chiefly　for　the　political　and　commercial　ends　of　favored　classes　in　England。

These　attacks；　aimed　through　his　religious　conscience　at　the　sources　of　his　livelihood；　made　the　Ulster　Scot　perforce　what　he　wasa　zealot　as　a　citizen　and　a　zealot　as　a　merchant　no　less　than　as　a　Presbyterian。　Thanks　to　his　persecutors；　he　made　a　religion　of　everything　he　undertook　and　regarded　his　civil　rights　as　divine　rights。　Thus　out　of　persecution　emerged　a　type　of　man　who　was　high…principled　and　narrow；　strong　and　violent；　as　tenacious　of　his　own　rights　as　he　was　blind　often　to　the　rights　of　others；　acquisitive　yet　self…sacrificing；　but　most　of　all　fearless；　confident　of　his　own　power；　determined　to　have　and　to　hold。

Twenty　thousand　Ulstermen；　it　is　estimated；　left　Ireland　for　America　in　the　first　three　decades　of　the　eighteenth　century。　More　than　six　thousand　of　them　are　known　to　have　entered　Pennsylvania　in　1729　alone；　and　twenty　years　later　they　numbered　one…quarter　of　that　colony's　population。　During　the　five　years　preceding　the　Revolutionary　War　more　than　thirty　thousand　Ulstermen　crossed　the　ocean　and　arrived　in　America　just　in　time　and　in　just　the　right　frame　of　mind　to　return　King　George's　compliment　in　kind；　by　helping　to　deprive　him　of　his　American　estates；　a　domain　very　much　larger　than　the　acres　of　Ulster。　They　fully　justified　the　fears　of　the　good　bishop　who　wrote　Lord　Dartmouth；　Secretary　for　the　Colonies；　that　he　trembled　for　the　peace　of　the　King's　overseas　realm；　since　these　thousands　of　〃phanatical　and　hungry　Republicans〃　had　sailed　for　America。

The　Ulstermen　who　entered　by　Charleston　were　known　to　the　inhabitants　of　the　tidewater　regions　as　the　〃Scotch…Irish。〃　Those　who　came　from　the　north；　lured　southward　by　the　offer　of　cheap　lands；　were　called　the　〃Pennsylvania　Irish。〃　Both　were；　however；　of　the　same　racea　race　twice　expatriated；　first　from　Scotland　and　then　from　Ireland；　and　stripped　of　all　that　it　had　won　throughout　more　than　a　century　of　persecution。　To　these　exiles　the　Back　Country　of　North　Carolina；　with　its　cheap　and　even　free　tracts　lying　far　from　the　seat　of　government；　must　have　seemed　not　only　the　Land　of　Promise　but　the　Land　of　Last　Chance。　Here　they　must　strike　their　roots　into　the　sod　with　such　interlocking　strength　that　no　cataclysm　of　tyranny　should　ever　dislodge　themor　they　must　accept　the　fate　dealt　out　to　them　by　their　former　persecutors　and　become　a　tribe　of　nomads　and　serfs。　But　to　these　Ulster　immigrants　such　a　choice　was　no　choice　at　all。　They　knew　themselves　strong　men；　who　had　made　the　most　of　opportunity　despite　almost　superhuman　obstacles。　The　drumming　of　their　feet　along　the　banks　of　the　Shenandoah；　or　up　the　rivers　from　Charleston；　and　on　through　the　broad　sweep　of　the　Yadkin　Valley；　was　a　conquering　people's　challenge　to　the　Wilderness　which　lay　sleeping　like　an　unready　sentinel　at　the　gates　of　their　Future。

It　is　maintained　still　by　many；　however　often　disputed；　that　the　Ulstermen　were　the　first　to　declare　for　American　Independence；　as　in　the　Old　Country　they　were　the　first　to　demand　the　separation　of　Church　and　State。　A　Declaration　of　Independence　is　said　to　have　been　drawn　up　and　signed　in　Mecklenburg　County；　North　Carolina；　on　May　20；　1775。*　However　that　maybe；　it　is　certain　that　these　Mecklenburg　Protestants　had　received　special　schooling　in　the　doctrine　of　independence。　They　had　in　their　midst　for　eight　years　（1758…66）　the　Reverend　Alexander　Craighead；　a　Presbyterian　minister　who；　for　his　〃republican　doctrines〃　expressed　in　a　pamphlet；　had　been　disowned　by　the　Pennsylvania　Synod　acting　on　the　Governor's　protest；　and　so　persecuted　in　Virginia　that　he　had　at　last　fled　to　the　North　Carolina　Back　Country。　There；　during　the　remaining　years　of　his　life；　as　the　sole　preacher　and　teacher　in　the　settlements　between　the　Yadkin　and　the　Catawba　rivers　he　found　willing　soil　in　which　to　sow　the　seeds　of　Liberty。

*　See　Hoyt；　〃The　Mecklenburg　Declaratio