USA > Kentucky > Historical sketches of Kentucky : embracing its history, antiquities, and natural curiosities, geographical, statistical, and geological descriptions with anecdotes of pioneer life, and more than one hundred biographical sketches of distinguished pioneers, soldiers, statesmen, jurists, lawyers, divines, etc. > Part 36
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CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
He was an advocate for the last war, and was willing to show his faith by his works, and to volunteer in the service of his country. He served in two cam. paigns-was aid to Gen. Ramsey in the expedition commanded by Gen. Hopkins. and was aid to Governor Shelby, and served in that capacity with distinguished gallantry at the battle of the Thames. There are not a few of his countryten who entertain the hope that the highest office in the gift of the American people will at no distant day be conferred upon him. Should it be so, the destinies of the republic will be confided to one whose head and heart quality him for the great office.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
CUMBERLAND county was formed in the year 1798, and called after Cumberland river, which runs through the county from one extremity to the other. It is situated in the southern part of the state, adjoining the state of Tennessee-bounded on the north by Adair and Russell ; east by Clinton ; south by the Tennessce line, and west by Monroe county. The Cumberland river passes through the county from north-east to south-west, and the hilly which bound it, with occasional exceptions, are quite lofty, afford- ing as beautiful scenery as any river in the west. The surface of the county and its staple products, are similar to those of the sur- rounding counties.
The taxable property in Cumberland in 1846, was assessed at $998,896; number of acres of land in the county, 120,996; average value $3.58 ; number of white males in the county over twenty- one years of age, the same year, 949 ; number of children between five and sixteen years of age, 1,205. Population in 1840, 6,090.
BURKSVILLE, the seat of justice of Cumberland, (so called in honor of one of the original proprietors,) is about one hundred and twenty miles from Frankfort, and situated on the north bank of the Cumberland river. Besides the usual public buildings, it con- tains a flourishing academy, six stores and groceries, two taverns, four lawyers, five physicians, twelve mechanics' shops, and a Re- formed church. Population 350.
The American Oil well is situated three miles above Burksville, on the bank of the Cumberland river. About the year 1930, while some men were engaged in boring for salt-water, and after penetrating about one hundred and seventy-five feet through a solid rock, they struck a vein of oil, which suddenly spouted up to the height of fifty feet above the surface. The stream was so abundant and of such force, as to continue to throw up the oil to the same height for several days. The oil thus thrown out, ran into the Cumberland river, covering the surface of the water for several miles. It was readily supposed to be inflammable, and upon it's being ignited. it presented the novel and magnificent spectacle of a " more in fire," the flames literally covering the whole surface for miles, reaching to the top of the tallest trees on the banks of the river, and continued burning until the sup- ply of oil was exhausted. The salt borers were greatly disappointed, and the well was neglected for several years, until it was discovered that the oil pos- Bossed valuable medicinal qualities. It has since been bottled up io large quan- tities, and is extensively sold in nearly all the states of the Union.
About fourteen miles from Burksville, on the Cumberland river, and not for from Creelsburg in Russell county, is situated what is termed the " Rock House,"
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250
DAVEISS COUNTY.
a lofty arch of solid rock, forty feet in height, fifty or sixty feet in breadth, about the same in length, and a tall cliff overhanging it, In high stages of the water, a portion of the river rushes through the aperture with great violence down a channel worn into the rock, and pours into the river again about a mile and a half below. In ordinary stages of the water, the arch, or as generally termed, the "Rock House," is perfectly dry.
Not far from the oil well, at the junction of Big and Little Renick's creeks, there is a beautiful cataract or fall in the latter of about fifteen or twenty feet. At the point where these streams empty into the Cumberland, there was, in the first set- tlement of the county, a severe battle between the whites and Indians, in which the former were the victors. The rock-bound graves of the latter can yet be seen on the ground, a lasting monument of the valor they exhibited in defence of their wigwams, their fires and their hunting grounds. Other battles also took place in the county, but the particulars cannot be gathered.
DAVEISS COUNTY.
DAVEISS county was formed in 1815, and was so called after the gallant JOSEPH H. DAVEISS, who fell at the battle of Tippecanoe. It lies upon the Ohio and Green rivers : Bounded north by the Ohio river; east by Hancock and Ohio; south by Muhlenburg and Hopkins, and west by Henderson. The lands are generally level, fertile and well adapted to the production of corn and to- bacco, its principal exports. Hemp has been cultivated for a few years past as an experiment, and the crops produced compare well in quantity and quality with those in the best hemp region. Grasses also succeed well, and there is an increased attention to stock raising in the county. The lands are heavily timbered, con- sisting of sugar tree, locust, hackberry, walnut, dogwood, beech and poplar.
The taxable property of Daveiss in 1846, was valued at $2,558,592; number of acres of land in the county, 306,651 ; average value of lands per acre, $4,20 ; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 1,674; number of children be- tween five and sixteen years old, 1,928. Population in 1830, 5,218-in 1510, 8,331-increase in ten years, 3,113.
The towns of the county are Owenborough, Bon Harbor, Nottsville and Yelvington. OWENBOROUGH, the seat of justice, is situated on the Ohio river at the Yellow Banks, about one hun- dred and thirty miles from Frankfort. Contains a handsome court-house, Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian and Catholic churches, an academy and common school, ten dry good stores, three groceries, four taverns, six lawyers and four physicians, with a population of' about 1,000. A considerable trade is car- ried on by this town with the interior of the country, especially during a suspension of navigation on Green river; and the to- bacco stemming business is extensively carried on here. Bon Hartor is a small village, three miles below Owenborough, on the Ohio river, where there is an eddy formed by a bar, which serves as an excellent harbor for steam boats and other craft. This
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JOSEPH HAMILTON DAVEISS.
place bids fair to become quite a manufacturing town. Nottsrille is a small village, thirteen miles from Owenborough, on the Har- dinsburg road. Yelvington is a small village, eleven miles from Owenborough, on the Hawesville road.
Daveiss county abounds in mineral resources, especially coal, which is found in vast quantities. The only mine which is in successful operation, is that known as the " Bon Harbor coal mine," lying about three miles below the county seat, and three- fourths of a mile from the Ohio river. There is a railroad from the mine to the river, at the terminus of which, the owners of the mine have erected one of the largest cotton and woollen manu- factories in the west. At this point there has been a town laid off, and several very handsome houses built. The population, composed principally of operatives, already numbers two or three hundred.
There are several medicinal springs in the county, which are frequented by those in the immediate vicinity. The tar and sul- phur springs in the neighborhood of the "Old Vernon settle- ments " on Green river, are deservedly the most popular.
Colonel JOSEPH HAMILTON DAVEISS, (for whom this county was named,) was the son of Joseph and Jean Daveiss, and was born in Bedford county, Virginia, on the 4th of March, 1774. The parents of Mr. Daveiss, were both natives of Virginia ; but his father was of Irish, his mother of Scotch descent; and the marked peculiarities of each of those races were strongly developed in the character of their son. The hardy self-reliance. the indomitable energy, and im- perturbable coolness, which have from earliest time distinguished the Scotch, were his; while the warm heart, free and open hand, and ready springing tear of sen- sibility, told in language plainer than words, that the blood of Erin flowed fresh in his veins. When young Daveiss was five years old, his parents removed to Kentucky, then an almost unbroken wilderness, and settled in the then county of Lincoln, in the immediate vicinity of the present town of Danville. An incident which attended their journey to Kentucky, although trifling in itself, may be re- lated, as exhibiting in a very striking light the character of the mother, to whoso forming influence was committed the subject of this notice. In crossing the Cumberland river, Mrs. Daveiss was thrown from her horse, and had her arm broken. The party only halted long enough to have the limb bound up, with what rude skill the men of the company possessed ; and pursued their route, she riding a spirited horse and carrying her child, and never ceasing her exertions to promote the comforts of her companions when they stopped for rest and refresh- ment. The parents of young Daveiss, in common with the very early settlers of Kentucky, had many difficulties to encounter in raising their youthful family, es- pecially in the want of schools to which children could be sent to obtain the ru- diments of an English education. It was several years after their settlement in Kentucky, before the subject of this sketch enjoyed even the advantages of a common country school. Previous to this time, however, his mother had bes- towed considerable attention in the education of her sons, by communicating such information as she herself possessed. At the age of eleven or twelve, he was sent to a grammar school taught by a Mr. Worley, where he continued for about two years, learned the Latin language, and made considerable progress in his English education. He subsequently attended a grammar school taught by a Dr. Brooks, at which he remained a year, making considerable advances in a knowledge of the Greek language. At school he evinced unusual capacity, being always at the head of his class. He was particularly remarkable for his talent for declamation and public speaking, and his parents felt a natural anxiety to give him as many advantages as their limited resources would permit. There being at that time no college in the country, he was placed under the charge of a Dr. Culbertson, where he completed his knowledge of the Greek tongue. At
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252
DAVEISS COUNTY.
this time, the sudden death of a brother and sister occasioned his being recalled from school, and he returned home to assist his father in the labors of the farm. There is a tradition that young Daveiss was not particularly distinguished by his devotion to agricultural pursuits, frequently permitting the horses of his plough to graze at leisure, in a most unfarmerlike way. while he, stretched supinely on his back on some luxurious log, indulged in those delicious dreams and reveries so sweet to young and aspiring ambition.
In the autumn of 1792, Major Adair, under government orders, raised some companies of mounted men, to guard the transportation of provisions to the forts north of the Ohio river, and Daveiss, then in his 18th year, volunteered in the service, which it was understood would be from three to six months duration. Nothing of particular interest occurred in the course of this service, except on one occasion, when Major Adair had encamped near fort St. Clair, Here he was surprised, early in the morning, by a large body of Indians, who, rushing into the camp just after the sentinels had been withdrawn from their posts, killed and wounded fourteen or fifteen of the men, and captured and carried away about two hundred head of horses. These were taken within the Indian lines and tied. After the whites had sought shelter in the neighborhood of the fort, young Da- veiss, discovering his own horse at some distance hitched to a tree, resolved to have him at all hazards. He accordingly ran and cut him loose, and led him back to his companions amid a shower of balls. This exploit nearly cost him his life ; a ball passing through his coat, waistcoat. and cutting off a small piece of his shirt. He, however, saved his horse, which was the only one retaken out of the two hundred.
When his term of service expired, he returned home, and spent some time in reviewing his classical studies. He ultimately concluded to study law, and ac- cordingly entered the office of the celebrated George Nicholas, then the first law- yer in Kentucky. Daveiss entered a class of students consisting of Isham Talbott, Jesse Bledsoe, William Garrard, Felix Grundy, William Blackbourne. John Pope, William Stuart, and Thomas Dye Owings, all of whom were subsequently distinguished at the bar and in the public history of the country. Nicholas was very profoundly impressed with the striking indications of genius of a high order, manifested by Daveiss while under his roof; and so high an opinion did he form of the power of his character and the firmness of his principles, that at his death, which occurred bat a few years after, he appointed him one of his executors. He was a most laborious and indefatigable student; he accustomed himself to take his repose upon a hard bed ; was fond of exercise in the open air, habituating himself to walking several hours in each day ; he was accustomed in the days when he was a student, to retire to the woods with his books, and pursue his studies in some remote secluded spot, secure from the annoyance and interruption of society. In connection with his legal studies, he read history and miscella- neous literature, so that when he came to the bar, his mind was richly stored with varfous and profound knowledge, imparting a fertility and affluence to his resources, from which his powerful and well trained intellect drew inexhaustible supplies. He commenced the practice of the law in June, 1795; in August hs was qualified as an attorney in the court of appeals ; and in his first cause had for an antagonist his old preceptor, over whom he enjoyed the singular gratifica- tion of obtaining a signal triumph.
At the session of 1795-6. the legislature passed a law establishing district courts. One of these courts was located at Danville, one at Lexington, and one at Bardstown. Daveiss settled at Danville, and soon commanded a splendid busi- ness, not only in that, but in all the courts in which he practiced. He continued to reside in Danville until the abolition of the district courts, and the substitution of circuit courts in their place. He then removed to Frankfort, to be enabled more conveniently to attend the court of appeals and the federal court, having been appointed United States' attorney for the State of Kentucky. In the year 1901 or 2, he went to Washington city, being the first western lawyer who ever appeared in the supreme court of the United States. He here argued the cele- brated cause of Wilson rs. Mason. His speech is said to have excited the high- est admiration of the bench and bar, and placed him at once in the foremost rank of the profession. During this trip he visited the principal cities of the nonh and east, and formed an acquaintance with many of the most distinguished men
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253
EDMONSON COUNTY.
of America, with several of whom he continued to correspond until the period of his death. In 1803, he was united in marriage to Anne Marshall, the siset of the chief justice of the United States. After he had resided in Frankfort a few years, he removed to Owensburg, Daveiss county, to be able to attend more el wir to the interests of a large property he had acquired in that region. In Ing, he removed to Lexington, and resumed the practice of the law. During the stoyt period of two years previous to his death, there was hardly a cause of imperio.ce litigated in the courts where he practiced. that he was not engaged on one side of the other. We should have noticed before, his prosecution of Aaron Burr fs ¿ treason, whilst acting as attorney for the United States. He had notierd the movements of this person for some time before he commenced a prosecution, and became satisfied from his observations that he had some unlawful design in view; and, considering it to be his duty to arrest his movements. he caused him to be apprehended and brought before the court; but, from a failure of evidence, the prosecution was ultimately abandoned.
In the fall of 1811, Colonel Daveiss joined the army of General Harrison, in the campaign against the Indians on the Wabash. He received the command of major, the duties of which station he discharged promptly, and to the entire satis- faction of his superior officer. On the 7th of November, 1811, in the celebrated battle of Tippecanoe, he fell in a charge against the Indians, made at his own so- licitation. He survived from 5 o'clock in the morning until midnight, retaining to the last the full command of all his faculties.
Colonel Daveiss was near six feet high, with an athletic and vigorous form, combining with his high intellectual endowments, a remarkably command- ing and impressive personal appearance. His bearing was grave and dignified. His manner bland and courteous to those he loved, but haughty and repulsive in the extreme to those he disliked. As an orator. he had few equals and no superiors. The late Judge Boyle, the Hon. John Pope, and the ilon. Samuel M'Kee, all competent judges, and associates of Daveiss at the bar, fre- quently declared that he was the most impressive speaker they ever heard. As a colloquialist, he was unequalled, and the life of every circle in which he was thrown. His death occasioned a shock in the public mind throughout the State.
EDMONSON COUNTY.
EDMONSON county was formed in 1825, and named for Captain JOHN EDMONSON. It is situated in the south-west middle section of the State, and lies on both sides of Green river-bounded on the north and north-west by Grayson, east by Hart and Barren. and south and south-west by Warren. The face of the county is generally undulating, and in some places quite hilly. There are several sulphur springs in the county, with ores of various kinds, and an inexhaustible supply of stone coal. The stapie products are corn and oats.
The taxable property of the county in 1846, was value i at $401,127 ; number of acres of land in the county, 124.03s, average value of land per acre, $1,97 ; number of white males over twenty - one years old, 601; number of children between tive and sividen years of age, 955. Population in 1830, 2,642-in 1-40, 2,311.
BROWNSVILLE, the seat of justice and only town in Edmonson. is one hundred and thirty miles from Frankfort-contains a Baptist and a Methodist church, an academy, two stores, two taverns, two lawyers, two doctors, (and three in the vicinity), and eight
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EDMONSON COUNTY.
mechanics' shops. Population 150. Established in 1828, and named in honor of General Jacob Brown.
There are three natural curiosities in this county : the "Dismal Rock," the "Indian Hill," and the " Mammoth Cave." Dismal Rock is a perpendicular rock on Dismal creek, one hundred and sixty-three feet high. The Indian Hill lies one mile from Brownsville-is circular at its base, and one mile in circum- ference-its altitude eighty-four feet, and, except on one side, which is easy of ascent on foot, perpendicular. The remains of a fortification are seen around the brow, and a number of mounds and burial places are scattered over the area. A spring of fine water issues from the rock near the surface.
The MAMMOTH CAVE .- In Edmonson county is situated, perhaps the greatest natural wonder of the world, the celebrated Mammoth Care. In no other place has nature exhibited her varied powers on a more imposing scale of grandeur and mag- nificence. The materials of the following sketch of this cave, are derived, prin- cipally, from a sinall publication issued by Morton & Griswold, of Louisville, entitled " Rambles in the Mammoth Cave, during the year 1844, by a Visitor." This publication contains, we believe, the most complete and accurate description of this subterranean palace that has yet appeared, and gives the reader a very vivid conception of that amazing profusion of grand, solemn. picturesque and romantic scenery, which impresses every beholder with astonishment and awe, and attracts to this cave crowds of visitors from every quarter of the world.
The cave is situated equi-distant from the cities of Louisville and Nashville, (about ninety miles from each,) and immediately on the nearest road between those two places. Green river is distant from the cave only half a mile, and since the improvements effected in the navigation of that stream, by the construction of locks and dams, steam boats can at all seasons ascend to Bowling-green. twenty miles below the cave. and during a great part of the year to the cave itself. For a distance of two miles from the cave, by the approach from the south-east, the country is level. It was, until recently, a prairie, on which however the oak, chestnut, and hickory are now growing ; and there being no underbrush, its smooth verdant openings present here and there, a close resemblance to the parks of the English nobility. Emerging from these beautiful woodlands, the visitor is presented with a view of the hotel and adjacent grounds. The hotel is a large edifice. two hundred feet long, by forty-five wide, with piazzas sixteen feet wide, extending the whole length of the building above and below. The accommo- dations at this hotel are kept up in superior style.
The cave is about two hundred yards from the hotel, and is approached through a romantic and beautiful dell. shaded by a forest of trees and grape-vines. Pass- ing by the ruins of some old salt-petre furnaces, and large mounds of ashes, and turning abruptly to the right, the visitor is suddenly startled by a rush of cold air, and beholds before him the yawning mouth of the great cavern, dismal, dark and dreary. Descend some thirty feet, by rude steps of stone, and you are fairly un- der the arch of this " nether world." Before you, in looking towards the entrance, is seen a small stream of water, falling from the face of the rock, upon the ruins below, and disappearing in a deep pit; behind you. all is gloom and darkness. Proceeding onward about one hundred feet, the progress of the explorer is arrested by a door, set in a rough stone wall, which stretches across and completely blocks up the entrance to the cave. Passing through this door, you soon enter a narrow passage, faced on the left by a wall, built by the miners to confine the loose stones thrown up in the course of their labors. and descending gradually a short distance along this passage, you arrive at the great vestibule or ante-chamber of the cave. This is a hall of an oval shape, two hundred feet in length by one hundred and fifty wide, with a roof as flat and level as if finished by the trowel, and from fifty to sixty feet high. Two passages, each a hundred feet in width, open into it at its opposite extremities, but at right angles to each other ; and as they run in a straight course for five or six hundred feet, with the same flat roof common io each. the appearance presented to the eye is that of a vast hall in the shape of the letter L, expanded at the angle, both branches being five hundred feet long by one hundred wide. The passage to the right hand is "Audubon Avenue." That it. the front, the beginning of the grand gallery or the main cavern itself. The entire extent of this prodigious space is covered by a single rock, in which the eye can
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055
THE MAMMOTH CAVE.
detect no break or interruption, save at its borders, which are surrounded by a broad sweeping cornice, traced in horizontal panel work, exceedingly noble ..... regular. Not a single pier or pillar of any kind contributes to support it. it needs no support; but is
" By its own weight made steadfast and immoveable."
At a very remote period, this chamber seems to have been used as a cemetery ; and there have been disinterred many skeletons of gigantic dimensions, belonging to a race of people long since vanished from the earth. Such is the vestibule Mi the Mammoth cave. The walls of this chamber are so dark that they redet not one single ray of light from the dim torches. Around yon is an impenetrable wal! of darkness, which the eye vainly seeks to pierce, and a canopy of darkness, black and rayless, spreads above you. By the aid, however, of a fire or two which the guides kindle from the remains of some old wooden ruins, you begin to acquire a better conception of the scene around you. Far up, a hundred feet above your head, you catch a fitful glimpse of a dark gray ceiling. rolling dimly away like a cloud, and heavy buttresses, apparently bending under the superincumbent weight, project their enormous masses from the shadowy wall. The scene is vast, and solemn and awful. A profound silence, gloomy, still and breathless, reigns unbroken by even a sigh of air. or the echo of a drop of water falling from the roof. You can hear the throbbings of your heart, and the mind is oppressed with a sense of vastness, and solitude, and grandeur indescribable.
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