USA > Kentucky > The history of Kentucky : including an account of the discovery, settlement, progressive improvement, political and military events, and present state of the country > Part 8
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Not indeed as a popular declaimer ; not as one who writes for selfish purposes, to feed the prejudices of the ignorant, to scatter still further the seeds of an unre-
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strained democracy ; or to furnish the trophies of victory to the demagogue ; but to give effect to the best lessons of age, observation, and experience ; to teach our coun- trymen the way to a stable and durable constitution of government ; to ensure to our posterity, the blessings of representative, republican government ; and with the HEROISM OF A LYCURGUS, to banish ourself forever, from the participation of political power, in order to pre- sent to our countrymen, a form of government, which re- quiring of some a temporary sacrifice of political privi- lege, should secure to the people, the blessings of genu- ine liberty ; and to the commonwealth, an everlasting fountain of prosperity, and a brilliant crown of glory. But to resume our subject, of the lands.
A heterogenious mass of rights, and claims, had the Legislature of Virginia to act upon, when they took úp the subject of western lands.' We shall give some account of them.
OF THE OHIO COMPANY, we have slightly spoken in a former part of this history-THIS WAS A COM- PANY, formed some years previous to the rupture be- tween Great-Britain, and her colonies; consisting of , great personages, both in England, and Virginia, whose 'object was to engross the most valuable lands, on the western waters. Some monopolising privileges had been conferred on it, by the crown of Great-Britain ; and it had employed a few active agents, who had ex- plored, and surveyed, much of the upper country ; and as early as 1776, had made several large surveys in Ken- tucky ; for the purpose of obtaining patents. Which in
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mest instances elsewhere, and altogether in Kentucky, had been prevented, by the deranged state of public affairs ; and the succeeding revolution in government.
THE INDIANA COMPANY, was also a combina- tion of land-jobbers, formed nearly upon the plan, ofthe Ohio company ; and included those individuals, in England, and America, whose object was to engross western lands ; and who were not included in that as- sociation. This company had made some surveys on the upper waters of the Ohio ; but it is not known to us, if any were made for it, in Kentucky. -
MANY SURVEYS, had been executed, upon military bounty warrants, under the proclamation of George the third; of Great-Britain, bearing date in October 1763.
HENDERSON, & Co. had also, caused surveys to be made in the country, under color of their Indian title.
OTHERS WERE MADE, by Gen. Thompson, on some assumed authority, it is believed, either of himself, or of Pennsylvania, from whence he proceeded, and where he resided.
SOME WERE EXECUTED, for persons, who had se- lected particular tracts, for themselves; without any other warrant, than their own will.
Very few, or none of these claimants, had obtained a PATENT, either from the royal government, or from the commonwealth, previous to the passage of the land law, of May 1779; which was nevertheless held es- sential to the completion of a legal title.
There were in existance at that time, not only the different species of surveys just enumerated-but the M
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claims of many persons, who had not proceeded to sur- vey ; and who hadeither settled themselves, or improved on lands, with a view to future settlement; to which they asserted an incoate right, not sanctioned by law.
OTHERS held a transitory kind of claim called ancient importation rights, which entitled the party to fifty acres of vacant land, for each person imported by him,. into the colony.
A few there were, who had paid money into the pub- lic treasury under the regal government, for which they were entitled to receive vacant land ; and these were called holders of old treasury rights.
If there be any other description of right, or claim, it is either forgotten, or has been created by the land law.
Kentucky lands, not the only fund, but by far the rich- est, for satisfying these different claimants, was now to be' offered for sale on terms, which if not the wisest, that could have been devised, were calculated to answer the leading objects of the Legislature ; and to inspire every. man of enterprise, with the utmost activity, of hope, or fear, for his lot, in the partition of the country.
Under this general aspect of affairs, the Legislature, having first established a land-office, and directed the general duties of the Register, &c. introduced their fur- ther act, in the manner following :-
"SECTION. I. Whereas the various and vague claims- to unpatented lands, under the former, and present gov- ernment, previous to the establishment of the common- wealth's land office, may produce tedious litigation and disputes, and in the mean time purchasers would be dis- .
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; couraged from taking up lands upon the terms lately pre- scribed by law, whereby the fund to be raised in aid of the taxes, for discharging the public debt, would be in a great measure frustrated ; and it is just and necessary, as well for the peace of individuals, as for the public weal, that some certain rules should be established for settling, and establishing the rights to such lands, and fixing the principles upon which legal and just claimers shall be en- titled to sue out grants ; to the end therefore that subse- quent purchasers, and adventurers, may be enabled to proceed with greater certainty, and safety-Be it enact- ed." &c. " That all surveys, of waste and unappropri- ated land made upon any of the western waters before the first day of January 1778 by any county surveyor, commissioned by the masters of William and Mary College, acting in conformity to the laws, and rules ot government, then in force ; and founded upon charter, importation rights duly proved and certified according to ancient usage, as far as relates, to indented servants and other persons not being convicts, upon treasury rights, for money paid the receiver general, duly authenticated, upon entries regularly made before the twenty-sixth day of October 1763, and not exceeding 400 acres, accord- ing to act of assembly upon any order of council, or entry in the council books, and made during the time in which it shall appear either from the original or any sub- · sequent order, entry, or proceedings in the council books, that such order, or entry, remained in force, the terms of which have been complied with, or the time for performing the same unexpired, or upon any warrant
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from the Governor, for the time being for military ser- vice, in virtue of a proclamation, either from the king of Great-Britain, or any former Governor of Virginia, shall be, and are hereby declared good, and valid ; but that all surveys of waste', and unappropriate lands, made by any other person, or upon any other pretence whatso- cver, shall be, and are hereby declared null, and void.",
Now, by comparing this last member of the preceding sentence, with the previous specification of surveys, the reader will at once perceive all those which have been rendered null, and void; the rest will be those, declared valid, and good.
But there were persons, deemed meritorious 'claimants, who had not made surveys. These were such as claim- ed under the charter, and ancient custom of Virginia upon importation rights as before limited, duly proved, and certified in some court of record before the passing of the act ; those claiming under treasury rights, for money paid the receiver general duly authenticated, or under proclamation warrants for military service, and not hav- ing located and fixed such lands by actual surveys, as herein before mentioned, who were to be admitted to warrants, entries, and grants, for the same, in manner directed by the act, establishing the land office.
Thus have we endeavored to give a succinct account of the state of ancient rights, before, and after, the pas- sage of the land-law. We shall proceed upon the same plan, to present in like manner, a brief review of those, created by the passage of the law. These sub- jects, rejecting all embellishment from style, or invention?
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spose upon their own importance, their sole claim to attention.
For the early adventurers into Kentucky, the Legisla- ture proceeded to provide, in the following sections :-
" And whereas great numbers of people have settled in the country upon the western waters, upon waste, and unappropriated lands, for which they have been hitherto prevented from suing out patents, or obtaining legal ti- tles, by the King of Great-Britain's proclamation, or in- structions to his Governors, or by the late change of Go- vernment ; and the present war having delayed until now, the opening of a land-office, and the establishment of any certain terms for granting lands, and it is just that those settling under such circumstances, should have some reasonable allowance, for the charge, and risk they have incurred, and that the property so acquired should be secured to them :
Be it therefore enacted, That all persons who, at any time before the first day of January 1778, have really and bona fide settled themselves, or their families, or, at his, her, or their, charge have settled others, upon any waste or unappropriated lands on the said western wa, ters to which no other person hath any legal right or claim, shall be allowed for every family so settled, 400 acres of land, or such smaller quantity as the party choo- ses, to include such settlement ;" for which two dollars and twenty-five cents per hundred acres, were to be paid by the claimant.
Here we have a view, of the provision made by the Legislature, for the actual settler, on the land, claimed.
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Their next care we shall find extended, to those who settled themselves in villages. .
" Whereas several families for their greater safety have settled themselves in villages or townships under some agreement between themselves of laying out the same into town-lots, to be divided among them, and have from present necessity cultivated a piece of ground adjoining thereto in common :
Be it enacted-That 640 acres of land whereon such villages and towns are situate, and to which no other person hath a previous legal claim, shall not be entered for, or surveyed ; but shall be reserved for the use and benefit of the said inhabitants, until a true representation of their case be made to the General Assembly ; that right and justice may be done therein ; and in the mean time there shall be allowed to every such family, in con- sideration of their settlement, the quantity of 400 acres of land, adjacent to such town, or village, and to which no other hath a legal right ;" and for which the same price was to be paid, as for other settlements. These are the VILLAGE RIGHTS. The parties respectively, who were entitled to, the 400 acre settlement, were to prove their right, before authorised commissioners, who were to grant certificate to the successful applicant ; which was to contain a particular location of the land claimed, which certificate was to be entered with the surveyor, who was to survey the same, and upon that survey, be- ing first deposited with the Register of the land office, and no caveat being entered, after six months the Regis- ter was to make out the patent, under the lesser seal of the
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commonwealth, signed by the Governor, with a certifi - cate on the back, that the party , was entitled to the land ivithin mentioned, Thus was the legal title to be com- pleted.
To every person, entitled to a settlement, there was, at his option, allowed a preemption, of any quantity of land, not exceeding 1000 acres, adjoining such settle- ment.
There were yet other objects of legislative attention. " All persons who, since the said first day of January 1778 have actually settled on any waste, or unappropri- ated lands on the said western waters to which no other person hath a just or legal right, or claim, shall be enti. tled to the preemption of any quantity of land not ex- ceeding 400 acres to include such settlement ; - and alf those who before the said first day of January 1778, had marked out, or chosen, for themselves, any waste or un- appropriated lands, and built any house, or hut, or made other improvements thereon, shall also be entitled to the preemption of any quantity of land, not exceeding 1000 acres, to include such improvements."
Those claiming preemptions, for improvements, whe- ther before, or after the first of January 1778, either for 400, or 100'acres, were to present their claims to the . commissioners, for adjudication, and if allowed they were to receive certificates, which being deposited with the Register, entitled the party to a warrant, for the quantity of land mentioned ; for which he paid the state price. And in like manner the party, who was entitled to a settlement, and who in consequence chose to take
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a preemption, was also to deposite his certificate with the Register, and upon which, he took out a warrant for the quantity of acres mentioned, at the state price.
Yet, and there were other claimants, of high merit, and demand, who were to be secured in their claims, on the lands of Kentucky->A bounty in land had been engaged to the troops on continental establishment, raised by the ordinances of convention, or the laws of the common- wealth, and to the troops upon Virginia establishment : Wherefore it was " Enacted, that the tract of country lying on the south side of Green River, and south-east from the head thereof to the Cumberland Mountains, with the said Mountains, to the Carolina line, with that line to the Tennessee River, with that river to the Ohio, and with the Ohio to Green River, is and shall be re- served, until the further order of the General Assembly." And to this reserve, for the like purpose, the tract of country belonging to Kentucky; on the south side of Tennessee, was annexed, in the succeeding year.
The Grant to Henderson and company stood confirm- cd, at the mouth of Green River:
Virginia, not less just than bountiful, nor less bounti- ful than great, having provided for every claim on either her justice, or her bounty, finding herself still possessed of immense quantities of unappropriated lands, proposed these for sale, at the moderate price of forty pounds paper money, (worth forty dollars in specie at that time, but fast depreciating) for each hundred acres. Those who chose to buy, were to pay their money into the treasury
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and take out a warrant from the Register, for the quantity purchased.
The WARRANT, in every instance, was an order to the surveyor, to lay off the quantity of land expressed, for the party-who was directed to lodge his warrant with the surveyor of the county, within which the land pro- posed to be located was situated ; and to direct an entry of it, so specially, and precisely, as that other persons holding other warrants, might locate the adjacent residuum with safety. While the subsequent steps to be pursued, for the purpose of obtaining a grant, were pointed out, with much precision ; as in the case of a certificate for settle- ment, mentioned in a former page of this history.
By a subsequent act, tracts of four hundred acres each, ?
were sold to poor persons on credit.
Less we could not say, on this very intricate, and equally important subject, without leaving the general outline which we proposed to draw, very imperfect ; while we have for the sake of brevity, omitted many de- tails, highly necessary to be consulted, in order to have a perfect, and practical knowledge of the whole matter. If more is already said on the topic of titles to land, than is usual in other works of a similar kind , we have to ob- serve that we have written no other history, and that in this, we have not exceeded, but rather have fallen short of what in our judgment belongs to the occasion ; Jest, as the subject is grave, and the style in which it is treated, dull, we might be thought tedious by our own countrymen, and uninteresting, by others : And so our book might be thrown aside, and our time, and labor lost, for no N
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better reason, than that we had bestowed too much of either, on the subject.
We will then leave it for the present, but with the ex- pectation of resuming it again, and again, as its effects press themselves on our attention. Or a resort to it, sha'l be necessary to explain any moral, or political phe- nomenon, in the state of society, the progress of im- prøvement, the organization of our jurisprudence-or the character of our government.
The year 1779 early felt in various ways, the effects of Colo. Clark's expedition, and success ; a general confi- dence prevailed in the country, which extended itself a- broad ; and while it brought more emigrants into Ken -- tucky, it encouraged an extension of the settlements,' About the first of April a block-house was built where Lexington now stands, and a new settlement began there under the auspices of Robert Patterson, who may be considered an early, and meritorious adventurer, much engaged in the defence of the country -- and who was afterwards promoted to the rank of Colonel. Seve- ral persons raised corn at the place that year, and in the autumn, John Morrison, afterwards a Major, removed his family from Harrodsburgh, and Mistress Morrison, was the first white woman at Lexington ; so named to commemorate the battle at Lexington, the first which took place in the war cf the Revolution.
Bryant's Station, at present the seat of Joseph Ro- gers, five miles north-east ward from Lexington was al:o settled in 1779. Levi Todd, whose residence had been at Harrodsburgh, settled a station, about ten miles
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south-westward of Lexington in the same year. This gentleman afterwards removed to Lexington, for greater safety, and became distinguished among her early citizens.
In like manner, other parts of the country under the operation of the same causes ; an unpleasant restr. int on the one hand, and a diminished apprehension of danger on the other, exhibited similar eff cts. New settlements were made under the influence of different leaders ; some on the waters of Licking, and Beargrass ; some in the neighborhood of Boonesborough, of Harrodsburgh, and of Saint Asaphs ; and others on the waters of Green river.
These stations consisted of cabins built adjoining, or connected by intermediate palisades : and at the time were synonimous, with forts. Their original population generally small, was various, and depended on the party which could be gotten together ; often upon the popularity of the leader. They were recepticles for emi- grants, and many of them, by the accession of numbers, and new cabins, swelled into villages in the course of a year or two ; and were as suddenly depopulated, when no longer influenced by su. rounding danger.
In the progress of the seasons, other events of con- siderable moment to the quiet, and prosperity of the country were successively evolved. The effects of the land law, was first observed in the accumulated number of adventurers to the country, some with fannles, more without them. Some prepared to settle down on bare creation ; others travelling over it, as explorers, or specu- lators, anticipating the opening of the land-office.
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The Indians as usual, infested the country, and an- noyed the stations, or intercepted the hunters-and as usual the people attended to their affairs, in the midst of hostility.
A situation so insecure & restless, could bet lead to re- Rections on the means of rendering it more agreeable ; and of diminishing the danger, if possible, which every where presented itself. In the informal councils of the peo- ple accidentally convened, it was determined, that to free theirown habitations from war, it was necessary to carry it into the enemies country. Of all the Indians, who had maurauded in, or depredated on, Kentucky, the Shawa, nees, had been the most troublesome, and hostile. An expedition against Chillicothe, one of their principal towns, was determined on, and preparations commenced for its execution. The officers were designated, and Colonel John Bowman, was to command. This gentle- man had been among the early settlers of Kentucky-in 1777 he had marched one hundred men to her aid, had become a resident, and was regularly commissioned a Colonel in the militia. . He stood well-with the people, and they readily repaired to his standard, for the intend- ed expedition, to the number of one hundred and sixty men. . Neither the courage nor military skill, of Colo. Bowman had been reproach d ; he was a portly, good looking man ; and every body thought him a soldier; worthy of his rank, as they marched under his com- mand to Chilicothe. Benjamin Logan, James Harrod, and John Bulger served under him as Captains ; and many of the best men in the country, were his soldiers.
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Te expedition set out from Harrodsburgh in the month of July, its destination well known, and its march so well conducted that it approached its object without dis- covery. From this circumstance it would seem that the Indians were little apprehensive of invasion from a coun- try which they annually invaded ; or so secure in their courage, that they feared no enemy ; for no spy was out to foresee approaching danger. Arrived within a short distance of the town, night approached, and Colo. Bow- man halted. Here it was determined to invest, and at- tack the place, just before day ; and several other dispo- sitions were made very proper for the occasion, ind.cat- ing a considerable share of military skill, and caution, which gave reasonable promise of a successful issue. At a proper hour the little army was put in motion, and at the distance agreed on, it parted, as had been concerted ; the one division commanded by Bowman in person, the other by Captain Logan ; to whom precise orders had been given, to march on the one hand half round the town, while the Colonel, passing the other way was to meet him, and give the signal for an assault. Lo- gan immediately executed his orders, and the town was half enveloped ; but he neither saw nor heard, the com- mander in chief. Logan now ordered his en to con- ceal themselves in the grass, and weeds, and behind such other objects as presented themselves ; as the day began to appear, and he had not received the expected or- ders to begin the attack : nor had he been able, though anxious, to ascertain what had intercepted, or dulayed the march of his commander.
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The men in shifting about for places to hide, had alarmed one of the Indians watch dogs, who set bark- ing, with the agitation of apparent fright. This brought out an Indian warrior, who proceeded with cau- tion, on the way the dog seemed to direct his own atten- tion, and in a short time if he had continued his pro- gress, might have been made a prisoner ; but at this cri- tical moment a gun was fired by one of Bowman's par- ty, which the Indian well understanding, gave a loud, and instantaneous whoop, and away he ran to his cabin. 'The alarm was immediately spread through the town, and preparation made for battle. The party of Logan was near enough to hear the bustle, and to see the wo- men and children escaping to the cover of the woods, by a ridge which ran between them, and where Colo. Bow- man with his party had halted.
In the mean time the Indian warriors equipped themselves, with their military habiliments, and repair- ed to a strong cabin ; no doubt designated in their coun- cils for such occasions. By this time day light had dis- closed the whole scene, and several shot were fired, and returned by the Indians, and the party with Logan, some of whom had taken possession of a part of the ca- bins from which the Indians had retreated, or rather. perhaps it should be said, repaired to their strong hold. The scheme was formed by a few of the men of making a movable breast-work, or battery, out of the timber with which the doors and floors of the cabins had been com- posed ; and of pushing it forward against the cabin in which the Indian warriors were posted : O.hers of them
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had taken shelter, from the fire of the Indians, behind stumps, or logs, and were waiting orders ; when Colo. Bowman dispatched one of his attendants, to call a re- treat. This was done, to the astonishment of Logan, and his party. And what rendered it the more distres- sing, was the unavoidable exposure which the men must encounter in the open field, or prairie, which surrounded the town ; for they were apprised that from the moment they left their cover, the Indians would fire on them until they were beyond the reach of their balls. A retreat however became necessary, and every man was to shift for himself. Then, instead of an orderly, commanding, and well supported retreat, a scene most unmilitary, and mortifying took place : here a little squad would break from behind a cabin ; there individuals would rise from a log, or start up from a stump, and run with all speed, to gain the neighboring wood.
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