USA > Kentucky > The history of Kentucky, from its earliest discovery and settlement, to the present date, V. 1 > Part 18
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 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
118
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
had sought shelter with the Americans. Some of the French, knowing this party better than the Kentuckians, called for a light, and discovered their moccasins and leggings to be quite wet and muddy, from the passage of the creek and return. The discovery convicted them of treachery and lying ; and, to manifest to the tribes the friendly union and confidence with the French, Clark turned them over to the latter, to be dealt with as they thought fit. It was privately intimated, however, that the chiefs of the con -. spiracy should be put in the guard-house, in irons; and this was promptly done. In this manacled condition they were brought daily into the council, but not permitted to speak until all other business was transacted. After a few days, Colonel Clark ordered their irons to be taken off, and addressed them before the assembly, as follows :
"'Every one says that you ought to die for your treacherous attempt to kill me, and at a time when the sacred deliberations of a council were in progress ; and I had determined to put you to death. as you know you have justly forfeited your lives. But, on considering how mean it is to watch a bear and catch him asleep, we have come to the conclusion that you are not warriors, but old women, and too mean to be killed by the Big Knife. But as squaws ought to be punished for putting on breech-cloths like men, these shall be taken from you; and as women don't know how to hunt, plenty of provisions shall be given you for your journey home; during your stay here, you shall be treated like squaws.'
"Turning indifferently away, Clark began to converse with others pres- ent, while the Meadows seemed to be deeply agitated. One of the chiefs arose, and offering a pipe and belt of peace, attempted to speak. Clark, refusing to hear it interpreted, with a stroke of his sword lying on the table broke the pipe in pieces. indignantly announcing that the Big Knife never treated with women. Some friendly chiefs now undertook to mediate for the pardon of the offenders, especially for the sake of their families, toward whom the Big Knife might have pity; but Clark seemed yet inexorable.
"The guilty culprits seemed wrought up to the intensest excitement, as the tomahawk seemed to be suspended over their devoted heads. . They busied themselves in private whisperings among themselves for awhile, when suddenly two of their young men advanced to the middle of the floor. sat down, and flung their blankets over their heads, to the astonishment of the entire assembly. Two chiefs now arose. and standing by the side of the two young men. offered their lives in sacrifice, as an atonement by which to appease the offended Big Knife, and again offered the pipe. Clark softened to a milder tone, but would not accept the pipe. The young men kept their positions, while the assembly was all suspense and anxiety. Deeply affected by the magnanimity of these young men, Clark ordered the young men to arise and uncover themselves, and spoke to them these words :
"'I am rejoiced to find that there are men in all nations. Your offering of your lives is at least a proof for your own countrymen. Such characters
119
BIG GATE CONCILIATED BY CLARK.
as yours are alone fit to be chiefs, and with such I like to treat. Through you the Big Knife grants peace to your people, and I now take you by the hand as the chiefs of your tribes."
"They were now, with radiant countenances, introduced to the Ameri- can officers, to the French and Spanish gentlemen present, and finally to the other friendly Indian chiefs, and saluted by all as chiefs of the Meadows. Clark at once caused a council to be held, with great ceremony, in which the terms of peace were settled with these dangerous neighbors, and pres- ents granted to distribute among their friends. It was learned after that these young men were held in high esteem by the tribes, and that the inci- dent gave much prestige to the Virginians.
"Next, directing attention to some of the leading tribes toward the shores of lakes Michigan and Erie, Colonel Clark succeeded in inducing their chiefs to visit his headquarters. and in negotiating terms with them. He endeav- ored to impress on them the idea that the English were weak and afraid, as they were always ready to give the Indians so many goods to fight for them. He spoke contemptuously both of people who would offer bribes to others to go to war and do their fighting, and of those who would accept such bribes. 'The Big Knife,' said he, 'looked upon the scalps of warriors fight- ing their own battles as the greatest trophies of war; but those of men fighting for hire were given to children to play with, or flung to dogs.' The language had a powerful effect, for Clark had acquired a wonderful ascend- ancy over the barbarians.
"Among the chiefs of the lake-shore tribes was Lages, known by the appellation of Big Gate, from the circumstance of his having, when a boy, during the French war, and when the great Pontiac was besieging Detroit, shot a British soldier standing inside the fort gate. He had fallen in with a party of Piankeshaws coming to Kaskaskia, and had attended the council in silence for several days. Knowing his influence, and desiring to concil- iate in that quarter, the commander addressed him with an apology for not noticing him until the public business was dispatched; that though they were enemies, it was his custom to treat all warriors in proportion to their exploits in war, and on this account the great warrior must, to-day, dine with him. Taken by sudden surprise, the chief declined; but Clark, following up his advantage, was all the more urgent, as he saw that Lages was embarrassed and persisting in refusal, and pressing his solicitations the embarrassment became painful. The Indian. worked into a high degree of excitement, stepped into the middle of the room, and in the most serio-comic manner. threw down his emblematic war belt, then a little British flag which he pulled out of his bosom, and finally tore off, with more energy than grace, all his clothes, except his breech-clout. and piled them in common with the war emblems. Then in mock heroic attitude, he struck his breast, and delivered himself of the following impromptu : 1
i Butler, pp. 77-79; Clark's Memoirs.
٠
120
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
"'You know I have been a warrior from my youth, and that I delight in battle; three times I have been against the Big Knife. I had been pre- paring for another war party when I heard of the big chief's arrival; but I determined to rest myself, and come and hear what the Americans had to say in their defense. I am satisfied the Big Knife is in the right; and as a man and a warrior I ought not to fight any longer in a bad cause. I am henceforth a Big Knife.'
" With this he shook hands with Colonel Clark and his officers, and saluted them as brothers. The drollery of the matter was the nudity of Big Gate, and the newly-converted brother must be clothed. A fine laced suit was soon forthcoming, and the chief, in full military costume of dress parade, was ready for dinner with the Big Knife, or war against his old allies, the English. Soon after, Big Gate asked a private interview with Clark, and detailed a full account of the condition of Detroit, and offered his services to procure a British prisoner or a scalp. He was assured that no objection was made to a prisoner, if he would treat him humanely; but the scalp was declined, as this method of warfare was unworthy of warriors. On departing, Clark gave him a captain's commission and a medal, to secure his good will and offices in the future."
We made mention of the fact that, on the re enlistment and re-organiza- tion of his soldiers at Kaskaskia, Captain William Linn was put in charge of those whom desire and necessity led to return to Kentucky, with instructions from Colonel Clark to enlarge and strengthen at Falls of Ohio the works already erected there. Corn island, the spot selected for safety and con- venience, was then a beautiful and verdant island, covered with forests of native growth, and lying directly in front of the site of Louisville, from a point opposite the foot of Fifth street to the foot of Fourteenth. But a remnant of this alluvial ground remains, just above the bridge, after the denuding of the forest growth, and the washings of the flood currents of a century. On this island, a guard of soldiers and the families who had come with Clark's flotilla were yet remaining under the protection of the stockade fort, and under the shelter of the eight rude cabins that were hastily built in the early summer.
1 Inspired with more confidence by the military achievements in the North-west, Captain Linn constructed a stockade fort and some cabin im- provements on the shore, and removed the stores of supply, the garrison, and the thirteen families that came out with Clark. to their new quarters. This new fort was on the river bank, at the foot of the present Twelfth street.
As a life-drawn and vivid picture of the events and times here, we quote an article from the pen of one of the best living authorities : 2
"One hundred and five years ago Christmas was for the first time cele- brated at the Falls of the Ohio. When General Clark, in the spring of 1778,
I Collins, Vol. I., p. 19.
2 Colonel R. T. Durrett, in the Bivouac, January, 1884.
12[
.
FIRST CHRISTMAS AT THE FALLS.
set out upon his expedition against the British garrisons in the Illinois terri- tory, some twenty families assembling at Redstone, for the purpose of emi- grating to Kentucky, accompanied the soldiers from that place to the falls. These families were landed on Corn island, May 27, 1778, and became the founders of the city of Louisville. Cabins were erected for their habitation on the island, and they dwelt there until the news came of the conquest of the Illinois country, and orders were received from the victorious commander to prepare for moving to the main shore.
"To secure the settlers against the attacks of hostile Indians on the main land, a fort was ordered to be erected on the high bank where Twelfth street now enters the river. The building of this fort was committed to the charge of Richard Chenoweth; and although the structure he erected had little claim to the name of fort, consisting, as it did, of rows of log cabins joined together around an inner court, it yet served the purposes for which it was intended, until a better one could be constructed .. The settlers who had been cooped up on Corn island ever since their arrival were glad of the opportunity of enlarging their range: and although the fort was not finished at the close of 1778, it was in habitable condition, and some of the families spent their first Christmas in the new quarters. Accepting the change of getting from the island to the main land, and pleased with the thought of the approaching holiday, which all had been wont to celebrate in the old homes from which they came, they decided to give their new quarters what they called, a house warming on Christmas day. And as Chenoweth had been the builder of the new fort, it was concluded to honor him with the conduct of the house warming, or giving of the Christmas dinner and dance.
"According to the custom of the times, two things-a feast and a dance- were necessary to the proposed celebration of Christmas. It was easy enough to have the feast. Game was abundant in the woods, and expert marksmen were present to kill all the deer, and bears, and turkeys, and rabbits, and opossums that could be needed. The difficulty was the music for the dance. There was a negro named Cato at the fort who had a fiddle that had furnished music for the settlement during the summer and fall. But his crazy old instrument was now reduced to one string, and Cato was not Ole Bull enough to saw music from it. He had tried to make strings of the hair of the horse's tail and of the sinews of the deer, but the former only gave a horrid screech when the bow scraped them, and the latter uttered no sound except a kind of hoarse moan like the melancholy hoots of a night owl. Every young heart. and old one. too, in the settlement was sad at this condition of Cato's fiddle, but there appeared to be no help for it. and all had sorrowfully resolved to make the most of the feast without the dance.
"On Christmas eve, when the hunters had returned from the woods and the men were preparing the game and the women picking the fowls for the morrow's feast, a small boat was rowed between the island and the main land, and made fast to a tree just opposite to the new fort. The boat was
122
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
occupied by some traders on their way from Fort Pitt to Kaskaskia, and among them was a Frenchman, who, hearing of the help his king had deter- mined to give the Americans in their struggle for independence, had left France for the purpose of making his fortune in the new world with his vio- lin. The boat was in a leaky condition, and had been compelled to come to shore for repairs. Although anxiety to see the strangers had brought all the men, women, and children of the settlement to the boat, none of those who wanted so much to dance had thought of inquiring whether there was a fiddle or even fiddle strings on board. Not so with Cato. So soon as he got the opportunity he made diligent search, and learned that a French musi- cian was on board, and that he not only had his fiddle with him, but had also an extra supply of strings. It was not long before Cato had bargained with the Frenchman for the three strings he needed, and given as many rac- coon skins therefor, with an extra skin, on condition that nothing was to be said about it. Cato's scheme was to get his fiddle in order without any one at the fort knowing it, so that when the dinner was over and all were dying for a dance, he could surprise all with the much desired music. He, there- fore, put the new strings on his fiddle, laid the instrument away, and waited for the time when his unexpected music was to make the boys and girls think him the greatest man in the world.
"Friday, the 25th of December, 1778, came with a bright sun and a genial winter's air. Early that morning the pots were boiling and the ovens were baking the dishes that were to make the dinner. At the north-east cor- ner of the fort, adjoining the cabin of Chenoweth. and connected therewith by a door, was a large apartment, double the size of the rooms of the cabins, intended for a storehouse. Here forks were driven in the unboarded floor, and poles stretched through them, over which boards were laid for the dinner table. By twelve o'clock the table was ready for the guests. There was no cloth upon it, and most of its furniture was made of wood. The meats were served in wooden trays. the hominy in wooden bowls, and the bread upon wooden plates. An occasional pewter spoon and horn-handled knife and tin cup enlivened the scene, but there were not enough of them for all the- guests. If every article of food on the table had formed a separate course as in modern times. it might have been pronounced a swell repast. There were venison, and bear, and rabbit, and turkey. and buffalo meat. prepared in different ways. There was corn bread in pone, in hoe cake, and in batter cake form; there was hominy boiled and fried: there were milk, and butter. and home-made cheese. But the great dish of the occasion was an opossum baked whole. It hung by its tail on a stick of wood in the center of the table, and every one present had a piece of it.
"The occupants of the boat that had landed the day before had been invited to the feast. When the dinner was about over, and the boys and girls and old folks, too. had begun to sigh for want of the dance, the French- man was telling Miss Ann Tuell an anecdote in which something was said
123
A FRENCH FIDDLER IN DESPAIR.
about an accident to his fiddle. At the mention of fiddle Miss Tuell gave a joyous shout, which brought everybody around her. Quick as lightning the Frenchman was pressed with questions if he had a fiddle. When he answered in the affirmative, the fort rang with shouts of gladness. Monsieur was besought to get his fiddle and help to a dance. He tried to avoid it. but refusals were vain. The girls hugged him and kissed him and patted his face until he yielded.
"While monsieur was gone to the boat for his fiddle, the table was cleared from the large room, and all things put in order for the dance. Those who did not intend to participate in the dance, or, rather, had to attend to children too young to engage in it, were seated on stools around the walls, and the space between, which was a smooth dirt floor, left clear for the dancers. Cato was now the sad one of the fort. He began to think the Frenchman would carry off the honors of the day, and that his new fiddle strings. bought at the cost of four raccoon skins, would not afford the joy or bring him the pay he had expected. But there was no help for him, and he sullenly and sadly waited to see what might turn up.
"The Frenchman was familiar with the fashionable music and dances of his native land, but utterly ignorant of what was suited to the frontier set- tlements of this country. He was willing, however, to do his best for the enjoyment of the occasion, and the girls were delighted at the opportunity of learning something new and fashionable-
"A bran new dance Just come from France,
as some of them rhymingly expressed it. When he returned from the boat with his fiddle he found the room ready, and the dancers on the floor impa- tient to begin. The names of the dances he tried to introduce have not come down to us, but the description which has been preserved in tradition indicates that they were the following :
"First he tried what was known in those days as the Branle. He arranged the dancers in a circle around the room with hands joined, and showed them how to leap in circles and keep one another in constant motion. After giv- ing, as he thought, sufficient instructions to insure success, he took his place at one side of the room, and began to play and direct the dance. But the dancers would not or could not follow his promptings. They got out of time and out of figure, too. The Frenchman was disgusted, and resolved to try another figure.
" He advanced to the center, and after descanting upon the grace and beauty of the Minuet, arranged the parties for that dance. He showed them how to make a long and graceful bow, how to balance, and how to glide for- ward. Then taking his position at the side of the room again, he began to play the minuet and direct the figure. But the dancers again either could not or would not obey orders. Instead of gliding, they would hop across the floor; and when they came to bow, instead of drawing it out to a grace-
124
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
ful length, as indicated by the strain of music, they bobbed their heads up and down in quick succession, like geese dodging a shower of stones. Mon- sieur was again disgusted, but summoned enough of the courage of despair to make another effort.
" He next introduced the Pavane, and explained that the principal merit of this dance consisted in strutting like peacocks. He instanced Margaret of Valois and other distinguished French ladies who had made great fame in this dance. When he had arranged them on the floor and showed them how to strut, he took his place and began the music. A scene soon followed that surpassed the two previous ones in ridiculousness. . As the boys strutted by the girls, the girls laughed at them, and as the girls caught their skirts with their hands on each side and strutted by the boys, the boys would imi- . tate the peculiar cry of the peacock until the whole scene was confusion confounded. Monsieur was disgusted beyond endurance. Although he spoke very fair English when at himself, he now lost the entire use of that tongue, and in his rage and despair rattled away in French, like an empty wagon over a rough pavement. He planted his back against the wall after the first ebullition of passion had subsided, and there stood, with his fiddle under his arm and his bow in his hand. a grim. pale statue of despair.
"Just at this juncture a charcoal face, with ivory teeth between thick lips grinning from ear to ear, was seen entering the room. It was Cato, the negro fiddler, whose music had given more pleasure at the falls than all other things combined. In truth. it may be doubted if the families could have been kept together on Corn island during the summer and fall of 1778, if Cato's fiddle had not been there to cheer them with its stirring tunes. Cato walked up to the Frenchman, and, with the politeness of the Frenchman himself, asked if he might play while his honor rested. The Frenchman gladly accepted the proposition of Cato, and told him to play on.
"Cato began an old Virginia reel, and quick as thought the males were ranged along one side of the room and the females on the other, each having selected a partner in the twinkling of an eye. Down through the intervening space dashed the head couple, cutting all sorts of capers, inter- + spersed with jigs, hoe downs, shuffles, and pigeon wings, until, weary of their violent efforts, they took their stand at the foot of the circle. Then the next couple did likewise, the difference being only a little more so or a little less so, until the foot became the head again, and so on. No prompting was necessary. All understood what was to be done, and did it. Everything was absolute enjoyment except the thought of how long a human being in Cato's position might hold out to make such music. Cato did hold out till midnight, when all were weary enough to go to bed and rest.
"The Frenchman slowly awoke to an appreciation of his situation, and while the dance was in full blast made his way to his boat. The boat had reluctantly been delayed for this frolic, and, now that monsieur was aboard again, it was soon pushed from shore, making its way over the rapids toward
125
THE FIRST SETTLERS AT LOUISVILLE.
its destination, bearing away with it the secret as to how Cato obtained his fiddle-strings.
"There was no newspaper printed at the falls at that early date; but if there had been, its next issue would doubtless have contained the names of the persons at the dance, and given a description of the costumes; for. although the occasion presented nothing that would rank with the displays of modern fashion, everything there was the best that the times and the locality could afford. The gentlemen appeared in buckskin hunting shirts, breeches, and moccasins, and the ladies in linsey gowns, with hands ungloved and feet covered by coarse brogans. Every man, woman, and- child in the settlement was present, and the following ancestors of descendants yet dwell- ing among us may be mentioned as having joined in this first celebration of a Christmas holiday in Louisville :
" Richard Chenoweth, his wife Hannah, and their four children, Mildred, Jane, James, and Thomas.
"James Patten, his wife Mary, and their three daughters, Martha, Mary, and Peggy.
"John McManus, his wife Mary, and their three sons, John, George, and James.
"John Tuell, his wife Mary, and their three children, Ann, Winney, and Jesse.
"William Faith, his wife Elizabeth, and their son John.
"Jacob Reager, his wife Elizabeth, and their three children, Sarah. Maria, and Henry.
"Edward Worthington was with General Clark in the Illinois campaign, but his wife Mary, his son Charles, and his two sisters, Ann and Elizabeth. were at the falls.
"James Graham was also with General Clark in the Illinois territory, but his wife, Mary, was in the fort at the falls. John Donne was also with Gen- eral Clark in the Illinois country, but it is believed that his wife, Mary, and their two sons, John and Charles, were at the falls at this time. It has also been claimed that Isaac Kimbly and his wife, Mary, were among the first settlers at the falls.
"In addition to these, Captain Isaac Ruddle, James Sherlock, Alexander McIntyre, William Foster, Samuel Finley, Neahl Doherty, and Isaac Mc Bride were detailed by General Clark from the Illinois expedition and left on Corn island to guard the military stores there deposited, and thus became parties to the first settlement of Louisville.
"Such a number of men, women, and children just released from their narrow limits on Corn island, and ushered into new quarters on the main shore, where the boundless forest, full of game, spread around them, would be likely to do full justice to their first Christmas dinner and dance; and · tradition says they performed all that could have been expected of mortals at both eating and dancing. Their descendants, at the distance of one hundred
126
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
and five years, see many changes in the mode of celebrating Christmas, but nothing more hearty, abundant, and sincere."
A larger and better fort, built by regular troops, assisted by the militia, in 1782, was located between the present Seventh and Eighth streets, and on the north side of Main, on the high water bank of the river. In honor of the third Republican Governor of Virginia, it was called Fort Nelson. Seventh street passed through the first gate opposite the headquarters of General Clark. When completed, it contained about one acre of ground. and was surrounded by a ditch eight feet deep and ten feet wide, intersected in the middle by a row of sharp pickets. This ditch was surmounted by a breastwork of log pens or enclosures, filled with the earth from the ditch, with pickets ten feet high planted on the top of the breastwork. Next to the river, pickets alone were deemed sufficient, aided by the long slope of the bank. In the course of time, artillery was placed in the fort, and, insig- nificant as it may appear to the eye of the military critic of to-day. it proved an important defense, and altogether adequate to the wants and purposes of its day.
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.