USA > Tennessee > Old times in Tennessee, with historical, personal, and political scraps and sketches > Part 3
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remnant, the wreck, of large families lost in effecting the early settlement of the West. As I look around I see the monuments. of former suffering and woe. Ask my colleague what he re- members. He will tell you that while his father was in pursuit of one party of Indians, another band came and murdered two of his brothers. Inquire of yonder gentleman from Arkansas. what became of his brother-in-law, Oldham. He will tell you that he went out to battle, but never returned. Ask that Repre- sentative from Kentucky where is his uncle, the gallant Hardin. He will answer that he was intrepid enough to carry a flag of truce to the hostile savages; they would not recognize the pro- tection which the flag of peace threw around him, and he was slain. If I turn to my old class-mate and friend, now a grave and potent Senator, I am reminded of a mother's courage and intrepidity in the son whom she rescued from savage hands when in the very grasp of death." There are still a few old men and , women in Tennessee who remember scenes similar to those to which Judge Grundy so eloquently referred.
It was thus that Middle Tennessee was peopled. None but brave and energetic men and women had the courage to encoun- ter such privations and meet and overcome such dangers as beset the emigrant on all sides. Their resolution never failed them, and they came off more than conquerors. For fifteen years they were harrassed terribly by the Indians, who committed all sorts of depredations upon the lives and property of the settlers. In- deed, it may be said that for that long period they had one con- tinual war with a savage foe who knew no mercy, and who prac- ticed the most inhuman cruelties. Without any aid or protection from the General Government, the only reliance of the pioneers was in their own brave hearts, while their only protection was their trusty rifles. How well and nobly they used their resources is written on every page of the early history of this State. Peace, with its blessings, was restored to Tennessee by the great victory at Nicojack in 1795. Six hundred as brave men as ever shoul- dered a rifle or marched to meet a foe, volunteered to pursue the savage depredators into the Indian country South of the Ten- nessee river. They arrived at the Northern bank of the river in the night, without discovery, and having no boats with which to cross, they constructed rafts, covered with rawhides, on which
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they placed their arms and ammunition. Wading and swimming, they succeeded in crossing the river in safety before daylight, and at sunrise attacked the Indian camp and gained one of the most brilliant victories ever achieved over the savage foe. For the first time the Indians sued for peace and laid down their arms.
It is not within the province of this writer to attempt even a sketch of the history of Tennessee. It is necessary, however," to revert to some incidents in this history to give the reader some idea of the struggles of the pioneers, the state of society, and what they accomplished in the self-imposed task of laying broad and deep the foundation of civilization in a country of savages. The great State of Tennessee stands forth to-day a monument to their intelligence, their integrity, their patriotism, and their de- votion to a high sense of duty. The territory embraced in the State of Tennessee was included in the first patent granted by an English sovereign (Queen Elizabeth) for any lands in the New World. This patent was issued to Sir Walter Raleigh, March 25, 1584, and its boundaries were " from the Atlantic to the South Sea." The colony of North Carolina, however, never claimed under this grant beyond the Mississippi river. It was nearly two hundred years from the date of this grant to Raleigh before any settlements were made in that portion now embraced in the State of Tennessee. Late in December, 1768, and early in January, 1769, was formed the nucleus of the first permanent establish- ment of the white race in this State. These settlements were made mainly in what is now Sullivan county, these immigrants being mainly from what is now Wake county, North Carolina, but Capt. Wm. Bean, who came from Virginia, ventured still further into the wilderness, and settled early in 1769 on Boon's creek, in what is now Washington county, his cabin being erected near the Watauga river. This was the first cabin built by a white man south of that river, and here was laid the corner-stone, so to speak, of the Watauga Settlement, which subsequently as- sumed the functions of civil government. His son, Russell Bean, was the first white child born in Tennessee. The creek upon which Bean settled was called Boon's creek, in honor of Daniel Boon. The first advent of this distinguished pioneer and hunter in this section is recorded as having occurred in 1761, when he
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came at the head of a hunting party "from Yadkin, in North Carolina, and traveled with them as low as the place where Ab -. ingdon (Virginia) now stands, and there left them." But there is reason for believing that he hunted upon the Watauga earlier, for in the valley of Boon's creek, near the main thoroughfare leading from Jonesboro to Blountville, and only a few miles dis- tant from the Watauga, there stood a few years ago-and per- haps does yet -- a large beech tree, upon which had been cut with. a pocket knife the following inscription :
. D. Boon A. BAR On
CillED
Tree
in yEAR
ThE 1760
The Watauga Settlement increased from year to year by im- migrants from Virginia and North Carolina. A considerable accession was made to its population by the Regulators, who, after their defeat in North Carolina, took refuge in the Watauga Settlement to escape the vengeance of Gov. Tryon, the Royal Governor of that Colony. When the war between the Colonies. and Great Britain broke out in 1776, this large settlement es- poused the cause of the patriots. Col. John Sevier raised a regi- ment of volunteers in Washington county, and Col. Isaac Shelby another in Sullivan county, and armed them with the huntsman's- rifle, in the use of which every man in that section was profi- cient. These regiments took a very prominent part in the battle. of King's Mountain, and the victory gained there, which turned the tide of war in favor of the almost despondent Colonies, was. chiefly owing to the coolness and intrepid bravery displayed by these gallant mountain-men. The deadly aim of the "squirrel- hunters" and Indian fighters from the Watauga fearfully deci- mated the ranks of the British and tory troops, and won a vic- tory which gave a new impetus to the American cause. The General Assembly of North Carolina, at its first session after the- defeat of Ferguson, who commanded the British forces at King's Mountain, adopted a resolution that a sword and pistols should be presented to both Sevier and Shelby, and also to Col. Camp- bell, who commanded a regiment from Virginia, as a testimony of the great services they had rendered to their country on the day of this memorable defeat.
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OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE.
The people assumed the name of Washington District, and sent a petition and remonstrance from the Watauga Settlement "to the Hon. the Provincial Council of North Carolina " (prob- ably early in the year 1776), praying, among other things, to be annexed to North Carolina. The prayer of the petitioners was granted, and they were authorized to send delegates to the Pro- vincial Congress at Halifax, which met November 12, 1776. Their delegates hailed from "Washington District, Watauga Settlement." Washington was the first county organized in Tennessee (the date being November, 1777), and embraced the whole State. Jonesboro, the county-seat of Washington, is the oldest town in the State, having been organized in 1779. In the course of time, the thirty-three counties composing East Tennessee were carved out of Washington. Middle Tennessee was named the Mero District, and extended to the Tennessee river on the West. It was composed of the counties of David- son, Sumner, Wilson, and Williamson, and out of these the forty counties composing Middle Tennessee were organized. The Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians inhabited the territory West of the Tennessee River, and in 1819, the title of these nations to the lands lying between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers was extinguished by purchase, and since that date the twenty counties composing West Tennessee have been organized out of that territory.
In 1785 the bold people of Washington District rebelled against the authority of North Carolina, and set up an indepen- dent government, called the State of Franklin, of which Col. John Sevier was chosen Governor. The Franklin government existed only about two years, but during that period it exercised " all the functions of a sovereign State.
In 1789, the General Assembly of North Carolina ceded the territory now comprising the State of Tennessee to the General Government, with the reservation that soldiers of the "Conti- nental Line" should have warrants issued to them for services in the war of the revolution, to be located upon lands East and North of the Congressional reservation line. The cession was accepted by Congress, and a law passed establishing the Terri- tory South of the Ohio River. William Blount, of North Caro- lina, was appointed by President Washington Governor of the
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new Territory. Gov. Blount appointed John Sevier Brigadier- General of the Washington District, and James Robertson Brig- adier-General of the Mero District. At the second session of the Territorial Legislature, steps were taken to secure the admis- sion of the Territory into the Union as a State. A convention to frame a constitution assembled in Knoxville January 11, 1796, and on the 6th of February thereafter that body completed its work, and the president of the convention was "authorized and directed to issue writs of election to the sheriff's of the sev- eral counties, for holding the first election of members of the General Assembly, and a Governor, under the authority of the . constitution of the State of Tennessee." The name of Tennes- see was given to the new State by the convention, on motion of Gen. Andrew Jackson, who was a member of that body-Ten- as-see, in the Indian dialect, meaning a spoon, the name of the principal river of the State.
At the first election held by the people under the constitution, "citizen John Sevier" was "duly and constitutionally elected Governor of this State.". It is a remarkable coincidence, as showing the great popularity of Gen. Sevier, that he was the Governor of the State of Franklin and afterward the first Gov- ernor of Tennessee. The Legislature chosen at the same time with Gov. Sevier, elected William Blount and William Cocke the first United States Senators from Tennessee.
We may readily come to the conclusion, from this rapid sketch of the early history of the State, that the pioneers who settled the wilderness and subdued the forest-who had for fifteen years fought the savages, and finally redeemed the country from their domination-were not less distinguished for their courage, their endurance, and their noble resolves, than they were for their patriotism and their high sense of honor. Sharing a common danger, they were drawn together as brothers. They possessed in an eminent degree all the nobler traits of human nature, and their virtues shone conspicuously upon every occasion. The aristocracy of wealth, with its attendant vices and vicious habits, had no foothold in this goodly land.
There was a good deal of speculation in lands at that early day, in which was laid the foundation of many fortunes. A witty writer has said that the circulating medium of Europe was
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OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE.
coin; of Africa, women and men; and of America, land and tobacco. The early settlers appreciated the advantages of edu- cation, and established colleges at Greeneville and Knoxville. North Carolina endowed the Nashville University with a large tract of land, comprising a part of the city of Nashville, and exempted it from taxation for one hundred years, and a large sum of money has been devoted to it and to academies. The University of Nashville flourished for nearly half a century, and turned out a goodly number of graduates who distinguished themselves in the various walks of life. But the management of its affairs has been such that it has lost the greater portion of its magnificent endowment, and now the old institution is shorn of its strength and power. Its buildings stand as a monument of the folly of the generation who failed to manifest the good sense and to emulate the noble example of the patriotic fathers of the country. The rising generation, and especially the strip- ling just from college, are apt to underrate the talents and great- ness of the generations that have preceded them. There is no question but that the men of the revolutionary period, who de- clared our independence, and fought the battles for the mainte- nance of the principles of that "immortal document," and who framed the constitution of the United States in 1787, and the pioneers who fought the battles of Tennessee and framed the constitution of 1796, were among the greatest men the world has known. They were indeed intellectual giants. They knew more of the rights of man, and how those rights should be main- tained and protected by free government, than all the men who had preceded them.
The growth of this country has been marvelous. The thir- teen States composing the Union when the machinery of free government was set in motion, have spread out until they span the continent from sea to sea, and number thirty-eight. From a population of three million, we have grown to fifty million. Tennessee, with a population barely sufficient to entitle her to a member of Congress in 1796, now numbers a million and a half. The constitution of 1796-which Mr. Jefferson pronounced "the least imperfect and most republican"-has stood for nearly a century, with comparatively few alterations, the most important being those by the convention of 1870, rendered necessary by
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the results of the war between the States. It is true that our social habits, manners, and customs have undergone a radical change. Whether this change has promoted the happiness and prosperity of the great body of the people, is a debatable ques- tion. My views touching this matter may be found fully ex- pressed in a speech I made at Erin, Houston county, on Tues- day, August 25, 1874. The good people of that county, where I had spent my early youth-for there I was "native and to the manner born"-had invited me to return and partake of their hospitality, and had prepared an excellent barbecue on the occa- sion of my visit. There I met and was greeted by three thou- sand citizens of Houston and adjoining counties. It was an occasion which I shall always hold in most grateful remem- brance, for it was an ovation of which any man might well be proud. The following is the address I had the honor to deliver on that interesting occasion :
Ladies and Gentlemen of Houston County:
Some two years ago I was honored with an invitation to visit the home of my youth, and renew an acquaintance that had nearly become extinct by the tooth of time, which invitation was gratefully accepted, but in consequence of family affliction, I was then prevented from performing that pleasant duty. I this day come into your midst to redeem that pledge, and feel myself honored by the presence of the fair daughters and the chivalry of the county of Houston. I return, after an absence of sixty years, again to tread my native heath, to greet my fellow-citizens, to drink again of its limpid fountains, and to breathe my native mountain air. While I deeply feel the honor of the occasion, the presence of so much beauty and worth in this large assen- blage, intended as a compliment to one of the native sons of this county, the joy of my heart is saddened when my anxious eye has surveyed this large assembly and has failed to find present any of the old pioneers, be they sires or matrons, that once occu- pied this high, healthy, and beautiful region; who had bid fare- well to their native homes, encountered the privations of settling a new country, and who had pushed the standard of civilization into this section, which then formed the western border of our State. I have looked in vain for the MeMillans, the Rushings,
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OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE.
the Edwardses, the Hornbergers, the Nichols, the Brighams, the Guilds, the Gorings, the McDonalds, and other honored names forming this settlement. They have been cut down by the scythe . of time, and rest under the clod of the valley; their memory we cherish and honor. From this ancient stock there has germi- nated a bold, honest, and hardy race, who bear the names of their parents and exemplify their virtues, many of whom are present this day representing that noble ancestry. The old stock has disappeared; not one of them survives who were living sixty years ago, when I left the county to seek my fortune elsewhere. Those who knew me then, on whose hospitable boards I licked their salt, and broke their bread, and often slept upon their pal- lets, as well as my playmates and associates of those happy days, have all disappeared ; they have either gone down to the grave or abide in lands unknown to me. They know me no more, and truly are we informed, that the places that know us now will soon know us no more forever. These reflections have a tendency to sadden our hearts.
1687296
"For I feel like one who treads alone Some banquet hall deserted,' Whose lights have fled, whose garlands dead, And all but me departed."
But this sadness is relieved by the presence at this assemblage of noble matrons, and beautiful girls as pretty as the mountain pink, and the gallant men who have germinated from this an- cient, honored stock, and who have turned out this day and greeted me as one of their native sons. I come among you, not to make a political speech, but to pay my respects and extend the right hand of fellowship to Houston and its citizens. What I may say will be in a rambling, desultory manner, rather in the style of shelling the woods, intending to say nothing but what is pleasant and agreeable, though founded in the history of the country and the times in which we live.
" Who's been here since I've been gone?" Many have come and gone-many and great have been the events covering that long period. Since then, the war of 1812 with great Britain has been fought and won. From a population of about ten millions, we have grown to about forty millions; from the original thir- teen States, we now number thirty-seven. The military chief-
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OLD TIMES IN TENNESSEE,
tain and statesman, Gen. Sam Houston, in whose honor this county was named-that gallant chieftain who had been schooled in the camp of our own Jackson-led the patriot band of Texans against Santa Anna and his Mexican soldiery, and by the victory of San Jacinto, revenged the death and vindicated the names of Crockett, Travis, and others who had fallen at the Alamo and on the other battlefields of that revolution. The result of that glorious victory established the independence of the Texan Re- public. In 1845, Sam Houston bore upon his back this great empire, and United the Lone Star-as one of the States of this Union -- with our glorious constellation of States.
During this long period, the wars with the Indians have been prosecuted, and their territory within the respective States has been secured to those States, and they provided with homes in the far West. The war with Mexico has been fought, and the golden sands of California have been added to the Union. Our narrow settlements bordering on the Atlantic and running North to the lakes, have been in an unexampled manner extended from ocean to ocean, and State upon State has been added to the Union, with their teeming millions. "Westward the star of empire takes its way," until our eagle, grown with the dimen- sions of this great country, rests his talons on the loftiest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, drops one pinion in the Atlantic Ocean and bathes the other in the distant waters of the Pacific, while he is billing and cooing with Cuba to come and unite her destiny with that of the United States; and at the same time his tail is cooled and rests upon the icebergs of the far North.
" Who's been here since I've been gone?" By the genius of the American Fulton, the application of steam as a propelling power has been discovered. Steamships plough the ocean, and steamers navigate the Mississippi and all our minor rivers. The invention of the railroad has been brought into practical opera- tion, and the iron-horse, with an eye that never winks, with a muscle that never tires, and wind that never gives out, mounts the rails, and transports human life and freight with more than the speed of the first-class race-horse-almost annihilating time and space. It is the great propelling power of machinery that feeds and clothes the world. Within this period, it required a year to make a trip to New Orleans and back. The river was
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descended in what was called "broad-horns." Upon the broad bosom of the Mississippi the produce of the country was thus carried to the Crescent City, the emporium of the South, and the return of sugar, coffee, and other Southern products, was made in keel-boats, that were cordelled or towed up the Mississippi and the rivers of Tennessee, and it required from four to six months to make the trip. Our goods were brought across the Alleghanies by the large six-horse teams from Baltimore and Philadelphia.
While I am on the steam question, I will relate the substance of an interview between the captain of the first steamboat and Billy Haynes, a citizen of Montgomery county, but near the line of Stewart; as the North Carolinian would have it, "in North Carolina, but near the Virginia line." My old friend Hockett Allen used to amuse us with this story upon the circuit ; but he, too, sleeps among the honored dead. Much of the gist of this story is in the action of Billy Haynes. He was a rough mechanic, but a man of energy and will, fair genius, much pre- sumption, and high estimate of his own powers. He had never seen a steamboat, but his brother Andrew had told him that one had passed up the Cumberland, and had made a great hole in the water. He was anxious to see one, for he could not understand, under his system of mechanism, how any boat could stem the current of the Cumberland. Well, early one morning Andrew heard the puffing of steam and the boat coming around the bend in the river; he informed Billy of the fact, and they started for the river, the captain having stopped at a wood-yard to take in fuel. Billy appeared with Andrew on the bank, and while steam was being let off, Billy was rather shy in going aboard; a little recovered, he "hollers" from the bank, "Who commands the boat?" which was the usual salutation to a broad-horn. The captain saw that Billy was a little green, and was lame in one leg. He was invited to walk the plank and come aboard. Billy, with some misgivings, went hopping aboard; and while the en- gine was plying, Billy, putting on a fierce look, says, "Captain, have you any objections to my examining your machinery ?" "No," says the captain. During the examination Billy re- marked, " Well, this beats anything I have ever seen." The captain turns one of the screws which lets off steam, near Billy's
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head, which makes him jump, but seeing no immediate danger, he renews bis examination, and says he can make cider mills and cotton gins, bui this beats anything that he has ever seen. Then the captain lets off a large quantity of steam, which suorts near the head of Dilly, and it not ceasing to blow, he becomes greatly alarmed, and runs for the plank to get on dry land, making one long step and ove short one, but going with great velocity for one in his condition. After arriving safely on the bank his courage revives, and he turns upon the captain and says: "You be damned; do you think that you can scare me with your Hoating distillery, or with your damned dug-out, or double-breasted workhouse? No, sir, you can't do that; for if you fool with me, I will drag your damned dog-out a half mile into the woods and leave it there, so you will never scare any- body with your thing. I want you to know who you are fooling with. I announce to you that inv name is Billy Haynes, and I. can be found at brother Andrew's, if you want to see me." The captain says, "You go to hell, you damned fool." Billy makes for home, and the captain steams away up the river.
" Who's been here since I've been gone?" Within the last forty years, that wonderful invention, the telegraph. has been put into operation, and upon the wings of the lightning we con- verse with each other, not only throughont the United States, but, with the aid of the ocean cable, converse and hold direct communication with every civilized people of the old world. The world is indebted again to American genius-Prof. Morse- for this great blessing. Those two great inventions-the appli- cation of steam to machinery, and the teaching of lightning how to talk-have revolutionized the commerce, trade, and travel of the world, and added vastly to the wealth of nations. They are the great schoolmasters of the world, teaching and civilizing man.
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