USA > Kentucky > History of pioneer Kentucky > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
Boone began his journey even before the Wataga treaty was completed. Crossing into Kentucky by Cumberland Gap, he entered the well-beaten war road of the Shawnese and Cherokees and followed it northward for fifty miles.26 Then leaving the war road, he traveled over a buffalo road to the "Hazel Patch," and thence across a trackless wilder- ness until he reached Rockcastle River. Up to this point the task had been an easy one; the road-making had con- sisted in blazing with their hatchets the trees along the
25 Deposition of John Floyd, Cal. Va. St. Papers, Vol. I, p. 309. 26 Speed, Wilderness Road, p. 26.
87
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
road. But now a more serious labor confronted them; the forests were full of fallen timber and dead brush. For twenty miles the company had literally to hew their way. No sooner had they successfully passed through this weari- some region than they encountered one of the wild cane fields that abounded in Kentucky.27 Their path through this was as difficult as through the brush. But after thirty miles they reached the end of the cane and "began to discover the pleasing and rapturous appearance of the plains." Upon this plain the pathfinders entered, and guided by Boone made their way rapidly to the Kentucky River. No indications of Indians had been observed on the way and they had almost completed their journey without an interruption. But on the twenty-fifth of March, when they had come within fifteen miles of their destination, the unexpected blow from the Indians came. The party, while sleeping in fancied security, was fired upon at daybreak. A colored servant was killed by the volley and Walker and Twetty were badly wounded.28 An Indian sprang forward to scalp Twetty but a faithful bulldog bore him to the ground. His red companions tomahawked the dog and then being but a feeble band all quickly withdrew. Boone had calmly rallied his men after the first surprise and saved the property. The ardor of some of the party was much chilled by this incident and they immediately set out for home. Both Twetty and Walker were in great suffering from their wounds, and as they were unable to be moved, Boone hastily constructed a rude fort for their protection while waiting. Here Twetty
27 Narrative of Felix Walker. This is given in Collins, Vol. II, p. 497.
28 Bradford, Notes on Kentucky, p. 22.
88
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
died the next day and the fort was christened in his mem- ory Fort Twetty.29
Boone remained encamped at this point until the first of April. While inactive he wrote and dispatched to Hen- derson a letter 30 relating the story of the Indian attack, but urging Henderson to come on to Kentucky as quickly as possible. He stated in his letter that he was going to start that very day for the mouth of Otter Creek and promised to send ten men to meet him if he so desired.
Meanwhile Henderson, having finished the treaty at Wataga, had started for "Louisa" on the twentieth of March.31 When Boone's letter reached him April 7th, he had almost arrived at Cumberland Gap. Hardly had he received the news, when the settlers fleeing from Kentucky began to come into camp. In one day he met forty fugi- tives and could prevail on but one of them to go back with him. Moreover, some members of his own party, being Virginians, and probably having no great affection for their Carolinian leader, left and went home.32 On the tenth he determined to send a messenger at once to Boone and inform him that he was on his way. Volunteers were not abundant for the perilous task; by the promise of ten thousand acres of land 33 and by many solicitations, he finally prevailed upon Captain William Cocke to make the trip. He, himself, with the remainder of his company, pushed on over the "trace" as swiftly as possible. On
29 Unknown to Boone, there was encamped only six miles away another party of white hunters from Virginia. These were attacked by the . Indians two nights later and lost two men killed and three wounded.
30 Boone to Henderson, Collins, Vol. II, p. 498.
31 Henderson's "Journal," Draper Manuscripts.
32 Even Captain Hart retreated and decided, as Henderson ironi-
cally states, to raise corn at home for the Kentucky people.
33 Cocke vs. Henderson, Cal. Va. St. Papers.
89
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
the eighteenth he was met by Stoner with pack horses and an escort promised by Boone in his letter. Two days later he reached the Kentucky River and found that Boone had already arrived and constructed a rough fort.
A candid admirer of Boone might well be at a loss to say whether instinct or reason had induced him to select such an unsuitable place for a settlement. He designed to build the town in the narrow valley that lay along the banks of the Kentucky. On the north side ran the narrow current of the stream, on whose northern banks arose high and precipitous cliffs. From their summits a rifleman could command any point in the valley across the river. Both banks of the river were thickly screened by the trees ; these were never felled and afforded an easy approach to the fort. On the south side, lofty hills arose at no great distance from the fort. They, like the cliffs on the other side of the river, commanded the fort. On all sides the fort lay exposed to any enemy of determination and skill.
In Boone's party when he had arrived at the Kentucky were about twenty-five men; Henderson had brought in forty more. 34 Accommodations had to be provided for this additional number. Boone had built his cabin on the west bank of a little stream that flows into the Ken- tucky about one-half mile below Otter Creek. Henderson found it impracticable to build cabins for his men at the same place and after reflection he decided to build a fort on the east, some three hundred yards away. By the twen- ty-second of April the fort was under way and lots had been laid off for the men. The men were to draw for the lots, and here it was that Henderson encountered his first
34 Henderson's "Journal."
90
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
opposition. Robert McAfee 35 refused to take part in the lottery, saying he wished to go some fifty miles down the river and make a settlement. Nevertheless, the drawing was made, houses were built, a magazine erected and seed planted. A few days later Captain Harrod and Colonel Slaughter came into the fort from their settlement on Salt River. Captain John Floyd also put in his appearance, and because he was deputy-surveyor of Fincastle County, gave Henderson considerable anxiety.
There is no reason to believe that Henderson had ever intended to claim or assert any right of government over the territory he had purchased.36 The right of eminent domain and of government, as he very well knew, belonged to England. But a quarrel broke out between Slaughter and Harrod in regard to their land on Salt River, and Henderson, much embarrassed, proposed that the different settlements in Kentucky should send delegates to Boones- borough and form a representative government.
For Boonesborough was not the only settlement in Ken- tucky at this time.37 There were three others that deserved the name; these were Harrodstown, Boiling Springs and Saint Asaph. The story of their settling must be briefly told.
It has already been related how Harrod and a company of Virginians had laid out Harrodstown in the spring of 1774, but after being warned of impending war by Boone
35 The McAfees had returned to Kentucky in March, and after planting a crop had set out for Virginia. They met Henderson, and all but James returned with him.
36 Deposition of John Floyd, Cal. Va. St. Papers, Vol. I, p. 309. 37 There were several bands of white men in Kentucky. Kenton had returned in the early spring, had found the "cane land" and was living in a cabin where Washington now stands. The Hinkston company of fifteen men were encamped on the creek of that name. Floyd's company of thirty men were encamped on Dick's River.
91
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
and Stoner had abandoned their "improvements." In March, 1775, accompanied by fifty men he had returned to his abandoned settlement. The news of Boone's misfor- tune at the hands of the Indians had caused many of his men to return home, but at the time Henderson called the convention Harrodstown was generally considered a strong settlement. It is worthy of note that it enjoys the dis- tinction of being the first settlement in Kentucky. Boiling Springs had also been settled by Harrod and his com- panions, but was not a fortified place nor as large as Harrodstown.
Saint Asaph had been founded by Benjamin Logan and was quite generally known as Logan's Fort.38 Logan was a Virginian, and starting to Kentucky had fallen in with Henderson and made the trip with him. Becoming dis- pleased with Henderson's plans, he separated from him at Rockcastle River, and cutting a road 39 of his own west- wardly he established a settlement near the present site of Stanford. The character and reputation of Logan was such that in a few weeks numerous settlers were attracted thither and Saint Asaph shortly grew to be an important place.
From the four settlements in Kentucky, Henderson called for delegates to be elected and meet at Boonesbor- ough.40 The delegates arrived and on May 23d held their first meeting under a great elm tree near the "lick." This was between the fort and Boone's stockade. Slaughter was selected as chairman of the convention much to the chagrin, doubtless, of Captain Harrod. Henderson opened
38 Speed, Wilderness Road, p. 27.
39 This road was extended to Danville and Louisville and soon superseded Boone's as the main highway to Virginia.
40 Henderson's "Journal."
92
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
their deliberations with an address in which he pointed out several matters for their consideration and denounced the preclamation recently issued against him by Governor Dun- more.41 To this speech the convention replied in an ad- dress wherein they asserted their right to frame local laws without giving umbrage to Great Britain or any of the colonies.
The convention remained in session until the twenty- seventh, and during that time passed nine laws. These laws concerned themselves with a variety of topics ; estab- lishing courts, regulating the militia, punishing criminals, preventing profanity and Sabbath breaking, writs of at- tachment, clerk's and sheriff's fees, preserving the range, improving the breed of horses, and, finally, preserving the game. This last law was made necessary by the fact that the abundant game of the region was already fast disappearing, owing to reckless hunting by the settlers. The law for improving their horses shows that even at this date the Kentucky people were interested in the sub- ject that later, according to popular report, enjoyed their exclusive attention.
At intervals throughout their lawmaking the legislators concerned themselves with other things. A committee was appointed to confer with Henderson concerning a suitable name for the colony, Henderson suggested "Transylvania" and the name was adopted. Later another committee, con- sisting of Boone, Harrod and Cocke, was appointed to urge the company to grant no land to newcomers save on the original conditions-higher prices than to the first settlers. Harrod's presence on this committee was signifi- cant, as he was later to change his attitude entirely. Be-
41 Journal of the Convention, American Archives, Vol. IV, p. 546.
93
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
fore the convention adjourned, Henderson, inviting open investigation, appeared before them and displayed the deed the Indians had given him at Wataga. Finally on the last day of the session he entered into a solemn and written covenant with the people. By the provisions of this con- tract, which merits the name of a constitution, delegates were to be elected and meet annually, judges were to be appointed by the proprietors but answerable to the people ; all civil and military officers were to be appointed by the proprietors, there should be a surveyor-general who should not be a partner in the purchase, and the legislative au- thority thereafter should consist of the delegates, a council of twelve men and the proprietors. The agreement was signed by Henderson, Nathaniel Hart, Luttrell and Slaughter. It is significant that no mention was made of executive authority.
The convention adjourned on the twenty-seventh to meet again in September. The best men of the settle- ments had taken part in it and they were, as Henderson testified, a fine body of men. Their work had been done well and with dignity. They went to their homes well pleased with the Transylvania Company and its treatment of themselves.
94
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
TRANSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA.
FTER the departure of the delegates, Boonesborough A
settled down to the by no means humdrum life of a provincial capital. The center and the nucleus of the town was the fort; it was built in the form of a parallelo- gram and measured, probably, some two hundred and sixty feet in length by one hundred and eighty in breadth.1 The walls of the fortification were composed of the walls of the settlers' cabins and interstices filled with palisades. At each of the four corners was a cabin of two stories which served as a watchtower and a redoubt in case of war. All the cabins had their roofs sloping inward so that they might be less readily set on fire by the enemy. On the opposite side of the fort were gates. But not all the settlers were located in the fort; Boone had erected two cabins on the other side of the "lick." Mr. Hart, also, one of the proprietors, to show his independence of Hen- derson, built his cabin outside the fort. Not a few others followed his example, and it was only in case of danger that all the settlers lived within the fortification. In fact, in times of peace not all the cabins within the fort were occupied by any means.2
There were at the beginning of June about sixty men, and no women, within Boonesborough.3 As a means of sub- sistence all were engaged in hunting or in raising Indian corn. The former was much the more popular, and strong persuasion had sometimes to be used in order that corn-
1 Rancke, Boonesborough, p. 35.
2 There were twenty-six cabins and four blockhouses in the fort.
3 Henderson's Letter to Colleagues, June 12, 1775, in Rancke's Boonesborough.
95
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
raising might not be altogether neglected. In one of the block houses Henderson made his home and opened a store. Goods of various kinds were sold here and on credit. Great- er reliance was put on the store for provision than even at first. For reckless hunting, as the Convention had noted, had already resulted in the destruction of much of the game and the gradual driving out of the remainder. Hunters had now to go fifteen and often thirty miles before finding any game at all.4 Yet the men still preferred the life of a hunter to any other. Only reluctantly did they engage in other occupations. When by chance any one wished to em- ploy laborers he was compelled to pay three times the wages that prevailed in Virginia or on the Yadkin. The truth was, as Henderson wrote home to one of his colleagues, that many of the settlers were idle and worthless, having come to Kentucky merely that they might go back home and boast of their journey. The people when they did work were scattered over the little farms which extended two miles along the river and Otter Creek. They went to the fields without their guns and, apparently, had for- gotten all about their former disaster. Boone had finished his little stockade to the west of the "lick" soon after arriving, but so great was the seeming sense of security that no amount of solicitation was able to induce the men to complete the main fort.
In all Kentucky there were in the summer of 1775 some three hundred men.5 Most of these, outside of Boones- borough, were at Harrodstown, Logan's and Boiling Springs, but there were several minor parties in different sections of the country. Kenton was occupying a cabin where Washington now stands ; Hinkston with fifteen men
+ Henderson's "Journal."
5 Butler, Kentucky, p. 30.
96
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
was encamped on the stream that now bears his name; Miller with fourteen men was giving his name to a well- known creek ; McConnell with a small band was loitering near Kenton ; Lindsday and others were encamped around the spring that was later to be enclosed in the town of Lexington. In all, the various parties had about two hundred acres of land under cultivation.
Kentucky was fast becoming a white man's land. Hen- derson had opened a land office at Boonesborough 6 and was rapidly granting land to actual settlers. He had also made out commissions for local officers at Logan's, Boil- ing Springs and Harrodstown. He had taken occasion to personally visit the three forts and found with a degree of pleasure that, though provisions, and especially salt, were scarce, the people seemed prosperous and well pleased with Kentucky and the Company.
But, as Henderson very well knew, there was no such tranquil life before him and his colleagues. Virginia and North Carolina had both, through their governors, de- nounced him and his treaty in no measured terms. Ac- cording to the Governor of Virginia, the infant colony of Transylvania was an asylum for rogues and debtors ; Hen- derson, moreover, was a disorderly person of whom the loving subjects of His Majesty should beware;7 His Ma- jesty had reserved Kentucky for other uses and all his civil and military officers should unite in throwing out the said Henderson. Henderson had, in opening the conven- tion, adverted to the admirable solicitude of Virginia's royal Governor and then gone calmly on with his under- taking. But on some of the settlers the proclamation was
6 Henderson's "Journal."
7 Dunmore's Proclamation in the American Archives, Vol. II, p. 174.
97
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
having a different effect. Over at Harrodstown and Boil- ing Springs, where Captain Harrod's influence was para- mount, disaffection began to appear. Hite was apparently the leader in the movement, but the guiding hand was that of Harrod.
That the revolt should come to light at Harrodstown was very natural. It had been settled long before Boones- borough and was not pleased to be thrust in the back- ground while a later settlement secured and enjoyed the honor of being the capital.8 The settlers of the town had located their claim under Virginia government and on re- flection did not enjoy the prospect of exchanging the in- effective rule of that province for the specific regulations of the Transylvania Company. Land was cheaper under Virginia land laws than under Transylvania. Over at Logan's Fort, Logan himself had, from his quarrel with Henderson, held sullenly aloof from things Transylvanian ; he was a powerful influence in the new country and his attitude helped spread the disaffection. Finally, George Rogers Clarke found his way to Harrodstown in the spring of 1775, and at once cast himself into the fight against Henderson. This ambitious, unscrupulous and intemperate man was a native of Albermarle County, Virginia, had been a neighbor of Jefferson and a schoolmate of Madison's, and had for several years before his appearance in Ken- tucky lived a roving and somewhat malodorous life as a frontier surveyor.9 He had been an associate of Cresap and Connolly in the preliminaries of Dunmore's War, and later became their staunch defender. He had served in the
8 This ill-feeling between the two towns was accentuated by the fact that the Boonesborough people were Carolinians; Harrodstown, Virginians.
9 English, Life of Clarke, Chap. II.
98
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
war and had made the acquaintance of Harrod, Kenton, Hite and other pioneers of Kentucky. He was a deputy- surveyor under Hancock Lee.10 Clarke was perhaps the only man in Kentucky at that time the equal of Henderson. To his fiery and ambitious spirit the claims of the Tran- sylvania Company were like a challenge to battle. He worked during the summer secretly against Henderson and returned in the fall to Virginia.
It so happened that within the course of this critical summer both Boone and Henderson felt constrained to leave their newly planted colony. Boone started home June 13th, for the purpose of leading out his family and neighbors to Boonesborough.11 Henderson, T. Hart and Luttrell set out in August for the North Carolina settle- ments in order to attend a meeting of Proprietors.12 Nathaniel Henderson remained at Boonesborough as jus- tice of the peace. So Transylvania was left without a guide. David and Nathaniel Hart, it is true, remained, but they had by this time become thoroughly at variance with Henderson and were rather disturbing agents than leaders.
The proprietors assembled at Oxford, N. C., the twenty- eighth of September. Their meeting was a busy one and many things of importance were done. One of their own number, John Williams, was designated to be a permanent land agent at Boonesborough and his salary was fixed at one hundred and fifty pounds.13 A vote of thanks was given Calloway and Boone for their efforts in behalf of the colony, and the latter was voted two thousand acres
10 Clarke settled at Leestown.
11 Filson, Autobiography of Boone, p. 57.
12 Rancke, Boonesborough, p. 38.
13 American Archives, Vol. IV, p. 554.
99
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
of land, while the former's son was given six hundred and forty acres. James Hogg was chosen to represent the colony in the Continental Congress then sitting at Phila- delphia, and a memorial was given him to present to that body. The price of land was raised from twenty to fifty shillings per hundred acres. It will be remembered that Henderson, before starting from Boonesborough, had told the prospective settlers that this would be the case. Then, after preparing some elaborate advertisements to be sent through the colonies, the meeting adjourned.
Williams speedily set out for Boonesborough and reached the fort in the last days of December.14 He found that Boone had returned the first of September and had brought his wife and children with him. Several others, including Calloway, had brought out their families and Boonesborough began to acquire a more domestic appear- ance. Boone, in fact, had started back with a party of thirty, but some of them under the leadership of the hot- headed Hugh McGary had gone to Harrodstown. Michael Stoner, a quiet, indefatigable "Dutchman" and the official hunter of Boonesborough, had one day fallen in with Ken- ton 15 at the Lower Blue Licks and had surprised that worthy very much with the information that there were other occupants of Kentucky than himself. Kenton had straightway returned with Stoner and was now at Hinkston. Floyd had been left by Henderson in charge of the land office and had done a flourishing business. There had been little evidence of Indian hostility except that Kenton had lost a companion near Lower Blue Licks.
The first act of Colonel Williams was to select a man for the very important office of surveyor-general. That
14 Draper, MSS. Life of Boone, Vol. IV, p. 52.
15 Hartley, Life of Kenton, Chap. II.
100
HISTORY OF PIONEER KENTUCKY
he might make no mistake in this, he resolved to call to- gether the Assembly.16 But it was the dead of winter and few were able to come; those that did come unanimously recommended Floyd for the place. Nathaniel Henderson was put in charge of the entering office. Under the direc- tion of these two men the locating of land went on rap- idly ; by the first of January there were nearly nine hun- dred claims recorded and many thousand acres surveyed. The people, as a rule, seemed well affected towards the company, save those at Harrodstown. Here the men were binding themselves into a league to hold no land save on the original terms, and four of them, Hite, Bowman, Wharton and McAfee, presented to Williams a remon- strance against the increase in prices.17 Williams answered with a spirited defense of the Company. He made prepa- rations, however, to go to Harrodstown himself and open a land office to see if he were able to allay the growing excitement. Of all the Kentucky country, the most valued part was that around the Falls of the Ohio. Great estates had been secured there by a few enterprising settlers and of this the Harrodstown people bitterly complained. Wil- liams at once proclaimed that no more lands should be surveyed there except in tracts of a thousand acres or less ; these, moreover, to be forfeited unless settled at once. Williams also announced his intention of laying off a town there in the early spring. But when spring came he could not find the requisite number of men for the undertaking, for there had been an Indian attack at Boonesborough and many people, consequently, had found it imperative to look after their affairs in Virginia or Carolina. Colonel
16 Williams' Letter to the Proprietors, American Archives, Vol. IV, p. 559.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.