USA > Tennessee > Old times; or, Tennessee history, for Tennessee boys and girls > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01713 0433
OLD TIMES;
03,
TENNESSEE HISTORY,
FOR
Tennessee Boys and Girls.
BY EDWIN PASCHALL.
IN THREE BOOK ".
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PUBLISHED FOR THE . AUTHOR! : 1800. . , .
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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by EDWIN PASCHALL, in the District Court of the United States for the Middle Dis- triet of Tennessee.
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SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE,
LEELLE, TENN.
TO THE PUBLIC.
PERSONS inclined to criticise this humble work, are requested to observe, that it is not entitled the, or even a, History of Tennessee ; but only " Tennessee History." It prefers no claim to original research or to completeness. The author has relied upon extant histories for materials, and from them has selected such topics as seemed best suited to his design of making a book which young persons, either at school or at home, will read with pleasure and profit. 1692123
A long experience in the school-room has convinced him that the serial readers usually put into the han Is of pupils in our schools are. in some essential points, ill-adapte l for juvenile reading. In the first place, they are frag-
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TO THE PUBLIC.
nientary ; being collections of pieces of every variety, without relation to each other, except that they are found in the same volume. Now, what the young mind craves above all other things is a narrative-a continuous story. This fondness for narrative is manifested even in the nursery, where nothing sooner quiets and pleases a child than " to tell a tale." It prevails during the whole period of intellectual growth, and will be gratified, if nothing better is offered, with the miserable fictions of " dime novels."
A farther objection to the serial school-books in vogue, is found in the character of the selec- tions with which they are filled. The first, and perhaps the second, of the series may answer well for the exercise of children merely learn- ing to know words by sight. But the subse- quent volumes are made up of "elegant ex- tracts," in prose and verse, which none but men amit women of literary habits are qualified to appreciate. Both in the subject-matter, and in style of composition. they are quite beyond the immature powers and uncultivated tastes of
TO THE PUBLIC.
burp and girls. Hence the reading of them is a dull, hard task-work to those who are forced through it. producing no better result than the halit of not understanding, and consequent dis- inclination to meddle with books. By these remarks, it is not intended to vast any blame w.h teachers, who employ the serial readers from necessity, and because they cannot procure more suitable works.
Impressed with these views, the author has undertaken to supply a book which, both for the nature of the subject and the simple style in which it is treated, young persons will be in- elined to read and able to understand. While eschewing the nursery talk of Parlevism, he has endeavored to avoid all words and phrases which an intelligent boy of a dozen yeais may not comprehend, especially with the help affordel by the context of a continuous narrative. For the purpose of adapting it to be read by classes in schools, the book is divided into chapters of suitable length for separate lessons ; and as for as possible, each chapter is made to have a
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TO THE PUBLIC.
beginning and end of its own, without impair- ing the connection and dependence of the whole.
While such is the primary object of the au- thor, he indulges the hope that such a work will prove both entertaining and instructive to that large majority of adult persons in Tennessee who have neither leisure nor inclination to read larger histories; and that the story of the struggles and hardships of the pioneers who founded our noble State, may pleasantly and profitably beguile winter evenings in the happy families who, in peace and plenty, are enjoying the fruits of their heroic toils.
Whether in all or in any of these purposes he has been able to deserve success, is a ques- tion referred to the indulgent judgment of his countrymen, by their humble servant,
THE AUTHOR.
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BOOK I.
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EAST TENNESSEE.
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OLD TIMES;
OR,
TENNESSEE HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
A GREAT man once said, "Tennesseans are bound to be true and brave from respect to their ancestors." If so, then how necessary is it that each successive generation of Tennesseans should be made acquainted with those ancestors- should understand their character and princi- ples of action, and how they acquitted them- selves in the scenes through which they were called to pass. To assist the boys and girls, who must soon become the men and women of Tennessee, in acquiring this knowledge, this little book has been prepared. It is intended
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OLD TIMES; OR,
to present to them a history of old times in Tennessee, at once pleasant to read and easy to understand.
No other new country will ever be settled in the same manner as was Tennessee. The in- vention of steamboats, railroads, and telegraphs has entirely changed the mode of proceeding in such matters. Hence, the early population of our State were placed in peculiar circumstances, which naturally gave rise to singular character and habits of life. The scenes of frontier life on the Holston and the Cumberland have passed away never to be repeated. Henceforth they can be viewed only in their written history. Curiosity alone should prompt a desire on the part of Tennesseans to know who and what sort were the men who, from 1770 to 1800, made Tennessee what it has since been. But there is yet a stronger and better reason why we should look into the records of those old times.
The men and women who planted and cher- ished civil society in the Western wilderness must have been "true and brave." for no others could have done it. When our young friend : shall have read the accounts here given of the dangers and hardships endured by the
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TENNESSEE HISTORY.
carly settlers in Tennessee for thirty years, they will agree with us, that a frontier cabin on Watauga or Cumberland was not the place in which to look for faithless and cowardly men. True courage is not the less true, because it is not displayed to the gaze of the world on the broad battle-fields of Blenheim of Waterloo; nor is public spirit less to be admired and reverenced, because it is employed in defending from savage massacre the women and children of an humble colony in the. backwoods.
The fidelity and courage of our ancestors was proved, amid scenes of violence and blood. in defending their liberties and lives against British bayonets and Indian tomahawks. We live in altered circumstances, and may hope that, in our day, the horrors of war shall not again reach our happy land. But should Provi- dence grant us this peaceful destiny, we shall not the less be bound to be " true and brave" men and women. Our virtues must be exer- chod in a different way, but they will remain still equally essential to constitute our own moral worth, and to promote the welfare and progressive elevation of our country.
" He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and Le that ruleth his spirit than he
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OLD TIMES; OR,
that taketh a city." In the political and social condition of our country at this time, there is much room for the exercise of that modera- tion and forbearance recommended in the pa - sage of Scripture we have quoted. It is easy to be violent and extreme, but only a " true and brave man" will stand for the right against popular delusions and the threats of powerful factions. To advocate unpopular truth, and to resist the clamors of a multitude persuading to injustice, are the virtues which our times de- mand, and to practice them to our own loss, requires as great courage as to face a battery of cannon.
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You, young readers, will soon have the char- acter of the State and the welfare of the people in your own keeping. But you have no need to wait for that time before you will be called upon to show yourselves " true and brave." Without faithfulness and firmness. you cannot be what you should be now. Except br the exer- cise of these virtues, you cannot fulfill your present duties to yourse'ves, your parents, your brothers and sisters, or even to your teacher and school-fellows. If " true and hrave" men and women have always been the saviours of the -
world, be assured that they were not false and
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TENNESSEE HISTORY.
1
craven when they played football or worked samplers.
Most of the men you will read of in the following pages had little education in schools, many of them none. This was the fault of the age in which they lived, when it was not so common as it now is to enjoy the means of education. Besides, the work in which they were engaged, was such as could be done with very little learning, and their praise is that they did that work well. But you, our young friends, live under a different set of circumstances. You can now all have the advantages of mental cul- tivation, and in the present state of the world. you can hardly perform the full duty of good citizens without a considerable share of intelli- gence, such as must be derived from reading and study. May you not fail to meet the demands upon you in a manner worthy of Ten- nesseans in the nineteenth century, and entitle yourselves to be numbered among the "true and brave" of the coming generation :
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OLD TIMES; OR,
CHAPTER II.
OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE.
THE history of minst civilized countries may be divided into ancient and modern. Take any of the principal nations of Europe-Great Britain, France, or Russia, for instance-and historians can give you a tolerably full and correct account of what has happened in any of them lately, especially since the art of print- ing was invented, about four hundred years ago. But when we go back beyond that time, the in- formation we can get is more scanty and uncer- tain, and the farther we go back, the more doubt- ful every thing becomes, until we reach a point of time bevond which nothing is to be known. The history of the Jews, as given in the Bible, is perhaps the most ancient the t is known to exist.
But Tennessee and the other States of the American Union have no ancient history: There is no history of the country at all that reaches back beyond the time of its chiscovery and
TENNESSEE HISTORY.
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settlement by white men from Europe. The Indians that were then found wandering over the country, did not understand the art of printing or writing, nor did they possess any other means of preserving the memory of the events that had happened among them. On this account we cannot expect to know any thing about the people that had lived in Amer- ica for thousands of years before it was discov- ered by Columbus. Men of learning and in- genuity have tried very hard, but in vain, to know even a little in regard to the ancient his- tory of this Continent. From several circum- stances, it is pretty certain that America was once inhabited by a people more civilized than the Indians; but who they were, or what be- came of them, we shall probably never know.
The history of America, therefore, begins about three hundred and fifty years ago, and is all modern. The whole of it is found in printed! or written accounts, made out by persons who had personal knowledge of the various events that have occurred ; and is, therefore, as much to be depended on as any history of any country can be. And as to Tennessee in particular, as & separate community, its history is not a hundred years old, since so long ago there was hardly a
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OLD TIMES; OR,
white man within the present boundaries of the State.
Strange as it may seem to boys and girls, it is yet true, that persons are now living in Ten- nessee, who can remember when the whole country was a wilderness. These persons can tell you of the time when there were only a few log cabins where the rich and splendid city of Nashville now stands ; and when the land where Murfreesborough is was covered with a cane- brake, without even a cow-path leading through it. The first white child born in Nashville --- Dr. Felix Robertson-died in 1864; and a lady now living has told us that she was a grown young woman when her father made the first settlement in Rutherford county. Where our railroadis now run. the traveler. sixty years ago, might think himself fortunate if he could find a blazed path leading from one solitary settle- ment to another. The grandchildren of that generation probably do not know what is meant by a blazed path. Do you know ?
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Surrounded as the people of Tennessee now are with all the comforts, and even the luxuries, of life, it must be diffeult for them to imagine how the early settlers of the country could con- trive to live without any of them. Can our
TENNESSEE HISTORY.
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young readers think how they could get along in a country withour railroads, or turnpikes, or roads of any sors? without churches, or school- houses, or dry-goods stores, or even mills to grind corn? without bridges or ferry-boats to cross the streams? How would they manage to live without coffee, or tea, or sugar, and even without bread or salt? And yet, the first settlers of Tennessee did manage to do without all these things, and a great many others, that we are in the habit of considering as necessary to com- fortable living. How they actually did live, at least in some particulars, will appear in the course of this history.
It would require several large volumes to contain all that is known of the early history of Tennessee, or even so much of it as may be found scattered through printed books. O? course, we shall bere attempt nothing of that kind. Our aim is to tell enough to give to the reader a clear and correct notion of the state of things which existed here among the people who cleared the eanebrakes, and wared a suc- cosstul war against rattlesnakes and Indians. We desire to present all that may serve to make up a faithful picture of frontier life, and nothing inore.
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OLD TIMES; OR,
CHAPTER III.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA.
As the territory composing the present State of Tennessee was formerly a part of North Carolina, it may be well to give, in this place, a short account of the latter State. The "Old North State," as it is frequently called, was among the first of the English settlements in America. According to the charter or deed granted by the King of England, the province was to front a certain distance on the Atlantic Ocean, and to mun back westwardly across the Continent to the Pacific Ocean, which was then called the south Sea. However, neither the King of England nor any of his people was at all acquainted with the country, except a few spots along the sea-coast.
The first settlements in Carolina were made, as a matter of course, in the eastern parts, and near to the ocean, where the English chirs could reach thery, and bring supplies and as-
TENNESSEE HISTORY.
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sistance when needed. The earliest permanent rettlement made by the English in the prov- ince was in 1663-two hundred and six years ago. In process of time, as the settlers became better acquainted with the interior of the coun- try, new settlements were made at a greater dis- tance from the sea. In the course of about a hundred years, the population extended to the Allechany Mountains, which are now the west- ern boundary of the State. But, except in some choice spots, North Carolina has never been very thickly settled; and as much of the soil is poor and unproductive, it is not likely to have a dense population for a long time to come.
The first white inhabitants of Carolina were probably all English ; but, in the course of time, a great many Scotch, and Durch, and French, and Irish made it their home. In the eastern part of the province, a large tract of country was taken up by a clan of Scotch Highlanders, and even thirty years ago some of' their descendants could scarcely speak the Eng. lish language. The part of the country where they live is commonly called the sand-hille. A colony of Quakers from Pennsylvania planted doanselves in the western portion of the State. and called their settlement New Garden. It is
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OLD TIMES; OR,
beyond dispute the best cultivated and most de- lightful part of the State.
But there is another description of persons among the early population of Carolina which deserves a special notice, because many of the first settlers of Tennessee were of that stock, as well as many of the men most distinguished in its history. I allude to the people called Scotch- Irish. They took this compound name because they were descended from Scotch families, who had, in old times, left Scotland and settled in Ireland. After awhile, a large body of them moved from Ireland to Western Pennsylvania ; and again, many of them went from Penn- sylvania, and formed what is still known as the Scotch-Irish settlement in Western Carolina.
The Scotch-Irish, who have not been much erlu- cated, or mised much with the world, ma" gener- ally be distinguished by certain peculiar ties of speech, such as Aprile, for April, etc. But all of them are remarkable for their energetic and thrifty habits, and for being able to take good care of themselves. They are also particularly jealous of power, and inclined to resist a :- thority. Those in Pennsylvania were at the head of the " Whisky Rebellion," when Wash- ington was President ; and a similar outbreak,
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TENNESSEE HISTORY.
called the " Regulation," was gotten up by them in North Carolina before the Revolutionary War. James Buchanan, once President of the United States, was a Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish- man; and in Tennessee, the names of Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Hugh L. White, and John Bell, may be referred to Carolina families of the same stock.
Farther, in regard to the Scotch-Irish : they are, or at least were originally, all Presbyterians. Presbyterianism was the religion established by law in Scotland, at the time they removed from that country to the North of Ireland. The people of Ireland were then, and are yet, mostly Roman Catholics. Therefore, when a foreigner tells you he is from the North of Ireland, you may generally conclude that he is a Protestant of the Presbyterian order; but if from any other part of the island, you may expect to find him a Catholic. Perhaps it is well to mention here, that by Protestant, we mean all forms of the Christian religion, except the Catholic. Daptists, Methodists. and Episcopalians, are Protestants, as well as the Presbyterians.
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OLD TIMES; OR,
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CHAPTER IV.
MORE ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA.
THE different sorts of people who make up the population of North Carolina, as stated in the last chapter, have mingled together until the distinctions among them are mostly worn off. But such was not the case at the time that Tennessee began to be settled by them. Up to that period, and even longer. the Highland Scotch, the Scotch-Irish, the Quakers, and the Dutch, continued to be almost as distinet in their . habits and manners as if they did not belong to the same community. Even yer, they have not been so completely amalgamated, or mixed to- gether, as in most other States, for which a rea- son will presently be given.
On the sen-coast of North Carolina there are no good barbors; that is, there are no places where the water is deep and still close up to the . land. The mouths of the rivers are also much filled up with sand-bars. In consequence of
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TENNESSEE HISTORY.
this state of things, large ships cannot safely approach the shore, and therefore there is no considerable sea-port town to carry on foreign commerce. Until lately that some railroads have been built, the people of North Carolina were forced to take their produce in wagons, many of them hundreds of miles, to Charleston, in South Carolina, or to Petersburg and Rich- mond, in Virginia, and to get home their dry goods and groceries in the same inconvenient and expensive way.
From the circumstances mentioned in the last paragraph, it may be readily supposed that the people of North Carolina have not been greatly addicted to trading in any way. They have been forced to live very much at home and by themselves, and have seen less of the world than the people of the other States. And this is the chief reason why the different classes of the population have remained so long dis- tinet, and retained so much of their original peculiarities. A great deal of trading and moving to and fro among all sorts of folks, will soon bring people to think and act pretty much alike; and the inhabitants of North Carolina have done less of this than mnost others. For the same reason, perhaps, they are considered
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OLD TIMES; OR,
to be more quiet and modest than the people of many other States.
Well, young friends, we suppose you have all heard of Whigs and Tories. And you probably understand that a Tory was an American who took part with the English king and govern- ment against the people of the provinces, who were fighting for their freedom and independ- ence, and who were called Whigs. This contest, generally called the Revolutionary War, was be- gun in the year 1775, and the first battle between the Americans and the English soldiers was fought in that year at Lexington, in the prov- inee of Massachusetts. It was in the next year, on the fourth of July, that the Continental Congress declared the provinces-thirteen in number-to be irce and independent States. That is the reason why people now celebrate the fourth of July as a great holiday. This Revolutionary War lasted about eight years, at the end of which Great Britain gave up the point, and agreed to let the people of America be independent, and manage their own affairs - to suit themselves.
Well, North Carolina was one of the colonies, : orprovinces, that were engaged in this waragainst . Great Britain, and her people were very much
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TENNESSEE HISTORY.
divided about it. Perhaps there were as many Tories as Whigs, and they carried on very cruel and distressing hostilities against each other- Hilling, robbing, burning, and destroying, as each party could get the advantage. The High- land Scotch, in the sand-hills, were all Tories to a man, on account of their ignorance, and their having been taught while in Scotland that the king should do as he pleases, and that nobody should resist him. Many others, who had been engaged in the "Regulation" some years before, had been then conquered, and forced to swear that they would be obedient to the King of England. This oath of allegiance, as it is called, they considered to be binding on their consciences, and thought it would be sinful for them to fight against the king.
The Quakers think it contrary to the princi- ples of the Christian religion to fight in any way, or for any cause; therefore, they were neither Whigs nor Tories. They were frequently ill-treated by both parties, but according to their religious views, submitted, without resistance, to whatever injuries might be inflicted upon them. They are generally inoffensive and friendly, in- dustrious and useful citizens. On this account. by the laws of Tennessee, and perhaps other
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OLD TIMES; OR,
States, they are exempted from militia duty in time of peace. This is, however, a rather empty compliment, as they are bound, like other citizens, to perform military service in time of war.
From this statement, our young readers will see that all the Tories were not bad men, but that many of them thought they were doing right when they fought for the king, or refused to fight against him. But there were others, who were Tories for what they could make by ir, and because they wished to be on the strong side. Of this selfish and unpatriotic class, there were a good many in North Carolina, as well as in the other provinces. The greater part of them - left the country upon the establishment of its independence.
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TENNESSEE HISTORY. 27 -
CHAPTER V.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN TENNESSEE.
Ir has been before stated that the King of England gave to the first settlers of North Caro- lina all the country lying to the west of that province, entirely across the Continent to the Pacific Ocean. If any of our young readers should here ask what right the King of England had to give away a country which was then in possession of the Indians, we can only say that such was the fashion of those times. Christian nations thought they had a right, if they could, to take away lands from heathens, who had no knowledge of Christianity. The King of Eng- lanl only did in this matter what all other Christian kings were then in the habit of dumny, when they had power and opportunity. After receiving such a grant from the king, the people who undertook to occupy the country, had to get clear of the Indians as best they could.
It has also been mentioned that in about a .
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OLD TIMES; OR,
hundred years from the time the English took possession of North Carolina, the country had been gradually occupied and cultivated as far west as the Alleghany Mountains. There the settlement of the country was stopped for awhile, because no one desired to make his home in the barren soil and hard climate of the mountains. By looking at a map, you will see that Virginia lies adjoining North Carolina on the north side, and the line between them runs from the Atlantic Ocean due west. This line had been marked only so far as the settlements : in the two provinces extended-that is, to the mountains. For this reason, when persons came into the wilderness on the west side of the mountains, they could not be certain whether they were on land belonging to North Carolina or Virginia.
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