pioneers of the old southwest-第19部分

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were　moving　about　the　country　the　three　stripped　and　painted　themselves　as　warriors　and　donned　the　feathered　headdress。　So　successful　was　their　disguise　that　they　were　fired　on　by　a　party　of　surveyors　near　the　outskirts　of　Harrodsburg。

The　records　do　not　state　what　were　the　sensations　of　certain　speculators　in　a　land　office　in　Harrodsburg　when　a　blue…eyed　savage　in　a　war　bonnet　sprang　through　the　doorway　and；　with　uplifted　weapon；　declared　the　office　closed；　but　we　get　a　hint　of　the　power　of　Clark's　personality　and　of　his　genius　for　dominating　men　from　the　terse　report　that　he　〃enrolled〃　the　speculators。　He　was　informed　that　another　party　of　men；　more　nervous　than　these；　was　now　on　its　way　out　of　Kentucky。　In　haste　he　dispatched　a　dozen　frontiersmen　to　cut　the　party　off　at　Crab　Orchard　and　take　away　the　gun　of　every　man　who　refused　to　turn　back　and　do　his　bit　for　Kentucky。　To　Clark　a　man　was　a　gun；　and　he　meant　that　every　gun　should　do　its　duty。

The　leaders　and　pioneers　of　the　Dark　and　Bloody　Ground　were　now　warriors；　all　under　Clark's　command；　while　for　two　years　longer　the　Red　Terror　ranged　Kentucky；　falling　with　savage　force　now　here；　now　there。　In　the　first　battle　of　1780；　at　the　Blue　Licks；　Daniel's　brother；　Edward　Boone；　was　killed　and　scalped。　Later　on　in　the　war　his　second　son；　Israel；　suffered　a　like　fate。　The　toll　of　life　among　the　settlers　was　heavy。　Many　of　the　best…known　border　leaders　were　slain。　Food　and　powder　often　ran　short。　Corn　might　be　planted；　but　whether　it　would　be　harvested　or　not　the　planters　never　knew；　and　the　hunter's　rifle　shot；　necessary　though　it　was；　proved　only　too　often　an　invitation　to　the　lurking　foe。　But　sometimes；　through　all　the　dangers　of　forest　and　trail；　Daniel　Boone　slipped　away　silently　to　Harrodsburg　to　confer　with　Clark；　or　Clark　himself；　in　the　Indian　guise　that　suited　the　wild　man　in　him　not　ill；　made　his　way　to　and　from　the　garrisons　which　looked　to　him　for　everything。

Twice　Clark　gathered　together　the　〃guns〃　of　Kentucky　and；　marching　north　into　the　enemy's　country；　swept　down　upon　the　Indian　towns　of　Piqua　and　Chillicothe　and　razed　them。　In　1782；　in　the　second　of　these　enterprises；　his　cousin；　Joseph　Rogers；　who　had　been　taken　prisoner　and　adopted　by　the　Indians　and　then　wore　Indian　garb；　was　shot　down　by　one　of　Clark's　men。　On　this　expedition　Boone　and　Harrod　are　said　to　have　accompanied　Clark。

The　ever　present　terror　and　horror　of　those　days；　especially　of　the　two　years　preceding　this　expedition；　are　vividly　suggested　by　the　quaint　remark　of　an　old　woman　who　had　lived　through　them；　as　recorded　for　us　by　a　traveler。　The　most　beautiful　sight　she　had　seen　in　Kentucky；　she　said；　was　a　young　man　dying　a　natural　death　in　his　bed。　Dead　but　unmarred　by　hatchet　or　scalping　knife；　he　was　so　rare　and　comely　a　picture　that　the　women　of　the　post　sat　up　all　night　looking　at　him。


But；　we　ask；　what　golden　emoluments　were　showered　by　a　grateful　country　on　the　men　who　thus　held　the　land　through　those　years　of　want　and　war；　and　saved　an　empire　for　the　Union？　What　practical　recognition　was　there　of　these　brave　and　unselfish　men　who　daily　risked　their　lives　and　faced　the　stealth　and　cruelty　lurking　in　the　wilderness　ways？　There　is　meager　eloquence　in　the　records。　Here；　for　instance；　is　a　letter　from　George　Rogers　Clark　to　the　Governor　of　Virginia；　dated　May　27；　1783：

〃Sir。　Nothing　but　necessity　could　induce　me　to　make　the　following　request　to　Your　Excellency；　which　is　to　grant　me　a　small　sum　of　money　on　account；　as　I　can　assure　you；　Sir；　that　I　am　exceedingly　distressed　for　the　want　of　necessary　clothing　etc　and　don't　know　any　channel　through　which　I　could　procure　any　except　of　the　Executive。　The　State　I　believe　will　fall　considerably　in　my　debt。　Any　supplies　which　Your　Excellency　favors　me　with　might　be　deducted　out　of　my　accounts。〃*

*　〃Calendar　of　Virginia　State　Papers；〃　vol。　III；　p。　487。


Clark　had　spent　all　his　own　substance　and　all　else　he　could　beg；　borrowor　appropriatein　the　conquest　of　Illinois　and　the　defense　of　Kentucky。　His　only　reward　from　Virginia　was　a　grant　of　land　from　which　he　realized　nothing；　and　dismissal　from　her　service　when　she　needed　him　no　longer。

All　that　Clark　had　asked　for　himself　was　a　commission　in　the　Continental　Army。　This　was　denied　him；　as　it　appears　now；　not　through　his　own　errors；　which　had　not　at　that　time　taken　hold　on　him；　but　through　the　influence　of　powerful　enemies。　It　is　said　that　both　Spain　and　England；　seeing　a　great　soldier　without　service　for　his　sword；　made　him　offers；　which　he　refused。　As　long　as　any　acreage　remained　to　him　on　which　to　raise　money；　he　continued　to　pay　the　debts　he　had　contracted　to　finance　his　expeditions；　and　in　this　course　he　had　the　assistance　of　his　youngest　brother；　William；　to　whom　he　assigned　his　Indiana　grant。

His　health　impaired　by　hardship　and　exposure　and　his　heart　broken　by　his　country's　indifference；　Clark　sank　into　alcoholic　excesses。　In　his　sixtieth　year；　just　six　years　before　his　death；　and　when　he　was　a　helpless　paralytic；　he　was　granted　a　pension　of　four　hundred　dollars。　There　is　a　ring　of　bitter　irony　in　the　words　with　which　he　accepted　the　sword　sent　him　by　Virginia　in　his　crippled　old　age：　〃When　Virginia　needed　a　sword　I　gave　her　one。〃　He　died　near　Louisville　on　February　13；　1818。

Kentucky　was　admitted　to　the　Union　in　1792。　But　even　before　Kentucky　became　a　State　her　affairs；　particularly　as　to　land；　were　arranged；　let　us　say；　on　a　practical　business　basis。　Then　it　was　discovered　that　Daniel　Boone　had　no　legal　claim　to　any　foot　of　ground　in　Kentucky。　Daniel　owned　nothing　but　the　clothes　he　wore；　and　for　thoseas　well　as　for　much　powder；　lead；　food；　and　such　trifleshe　was　heavily　in　debt。

So；　in　1788；　Daniel　Boone　put　the　list　of　his　debts　in　his　wallet；　gathered　his　wife　and　his　younger　sons　about　him；　and；　shouldering　his　hunter's　rifle；　once　more　turned　towards　the　wilds。　The　country　of　the　Great　Kanawha　in　West　Virginia　was　still　a　wilderness；　and　a　hunter　and　trapper　might；　in　some　years；　earn　enough　to　pay　his　debts。　For　others；　now；　the　paths　he　had　hewn　and　made　safe；　for　Boone　once　more　the　wilderness　road。



Chapter　VIII。　Tennessee

Indian　law；　tradition；　and　even　superstition　had　shaped　the　conditions　which　the　pioneers　faced　when　they　crossed　the　mountains。　This　savage　inheritance　had　decreed　that　Kentucky　should　be　a　dark　and　bloody　ground；　fostering　no　life　but　that　of　four…footed　beasts；　its　fertile　sod　never　to　stir　with　the　green　push　of　the　corn。　And　so　the　white　men　who　went　into　Kentucky　to　build　and　to　plant　went　as　warriors　go；　and　for　every　cabin　they　erected　they　battled　as　warriors　to　hold　a　fort。　In　the　first　years　they　planted　little　corn　and　reaped　less；　for　it　may　be　said　that　their　rifles　were　never　out　of　their　hands。　We　have　seen　how　stations　were　built　and　abandoned　until　but　two　stood。　Untiring　vigilance　and　ceaseless　warfare　were　the　price　paid　by　the　first　Kentuckians　ere　they　turned　the　Indian's　place　of　desolation　and　death　into　a　land　productive　and　a　living　habitation。

Herein　lies　the　difference；　slight　apparently；　yet　significant；　between　the　first　Kentucky　and　the　first　Tennessee*　colonies。　Within　the　memory　of　the　Indians　only　one　tribe　had　ever　attempted　to　make　their　home　in　Kentuckya　tribe　of　the　fighting　Shawanoesand　they　had　been　terribly　chastised　for　their　temerity。　But　Tennessee　was　the　home　of　the　Cherokees；　and　at　Chickasaw　Bluffs　（Memphis）　began　the　southward　trail　to　the　principal　towns　of　the　Chickasaws。　By　the　red　man's　fiat；　then；　human　life　might　abide　in　Tennessee；　though　not　in　Kentucky；　and　it　followed　that　in　seasons　of　peace　the　frontiersmen　might　settle　in　Tennessee。　So　it　was　that　as　early　as　1757；　before　the　great　Cherokee　war；　a　company　of　Virginians　under　Andrew　Lewis　had；　on　an　invitation　from　the　Indians；　erected　Fort　Loudon　near　Great　Telliko；　the　Cherokees'　principal　town；　and　that；　after　the　treaty　of　peace　in　1761；　Waddell　and　his　rangers　of　North　Carolina　had　erected　a　fort　on　the　Holston。

*　Tennessee。　The　name；　Ten…as…se；　appears　on　Adair's　map　as　one　of　the　old　Cherokee　towns。　Apparently　neither　the　meaning　nor　the　reason　why　the　colonists　called　both　state　and　river　by　this　name　has　been　handed　down　to　us。


Though　Fort　Loudon　had　fallen　tragically　during　the　war；　and　though　Waddell's　fort　had　been　abandoned；　neither　was　without　influence　in　the　colonization　of　Tennessee；　for　some　of　the　men　who　built　these　forts　drifted　back　a　year　or　two　later　and　setup　the　first　cabins　on　the　Holston。　These　earliest　settlements；　thin　and　scattered；　did　not　survive；　but　in　1768　the　same　settlers　or　others　of　their　kinddischarged　militiamen　from　Back　Country　regimentsonce　more　made　homes　on　the　Holston。　They　were　joined　by　a　few　families　from　near　the　present　Raleigh；　North　Carolina；　who　had　despaired　of　seeing　justice　done　to　the　tenants　on　the　mismanaged　estates　of　Lord　Granville。　About　the　same　time　there　was　erected　the　first　cabin　on　the　Watauga　River；　as　is　generally　believed；　by　a　man　of　the　name　of　William　Bean　（or　Been）；　hunter　and　frontier　soldier　from　Pittsylvania　County；　Virginia。　This　man；　who　had　hunted　on　the　Watauga　with　Daniel　Boone　in　1760；　chose　as　the　site　of　his　dwelling　the　place　of　the　old　hunting　camp　near　the　mouth　of　Boone's　Creek。　He　soon　began　to　have　neighbors。


Meanwhile　the　Regulation　Movement　stirred　the　Back　Country　of　both　the　Carolinas。　In　1768；　the　year　in　which　William　Bean　built　his　cabin　on　the　bank　of　the　Watauga；　five　hundred　armed　Regulators　in　North　Carolina；　aroused　by　irregularities　in　the　conduct　of　public　office；　gathered　to　assert　their　displeasure；　but　dispersed　peaceably　on　receipt　of　word　from　Governor　Tryon　that　he　had　ordered　the　prosecution　of　any　officer　found　guilty　of　extortion。　Edmund　Fanning；　the　most　hated　of　Lord　Granville's　agents；　though　convicted；　escaped　punishment。　Enraged　at　this　miscarriage　of　justice；　the　Regulators　began　a　system　of　terrorization　by　taking　possession　of　the　court；　presided　over　by　Richard　Henderson。　The　judge　himself　was　obliged　to　slip　out　by　a　back　way　to　avoid　personal　injury。　The　Regulators　burned　his　house　and　stable。　They　meted　out　mob　treatment　likewise　to　William　Hooper；　later　one　of　the　signers　of　the　Declaration