From: KyArchives [archives@genrecords.org] Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:01 PM To: Ky-Footsteps Subject: Chapter.Iii.Traces.Of.The.Earliest.Inhabitants.1884.Todd.HISTORY-Books Chapter Iii Traces Of The Earliest Inhabitants 1884 Todd County KyArchives History Books Book Title: Counties Of Todd And Christian, Kentucky CHAPTER III. TRACES OF THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS—INDIAN TRADITIONS—THE EARLY SETTLEMENT—A KENTUCKY BARREN—THE START IN A NEW COUNTRY —PIONEER INDUSTRIES—SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS. I T is an interesting suggestion of the archaeologist, that this land, which on the coming of the whites was too forbidding for the habitation .of the Indian, centuries before was the home of a race of beings possessing some approach to civilization. The discovery of footprints upon his deserted island by Robinson Crusoe was not more startling than the discoveries of archaeologists to the followers of Petarius and Usher, who place the operations of creation and the whole evolution of civilization within the narrow limits of a few centuries. But science has multiplied its evidence until there is no room to doubt that these ancient people were a living reality in the indefinite past, and worked out their destinies where the whites pioneered their way a hundred years ago. Time has swallowed up their identity, and loosely characterized by the character of their remains, they are known only as Mound-Builders. Their footprints may be traced " wherever the Mississippi and its tributaries flow, in the fertile valleys of the West, and along the rich savannas of the Gulf, upon the Ohio, the Kentucky, the Cumberland, the Licking; upon the streams of the far South, and as far north as the Genessee and the head waters of the Susquehanna, but rarely upon mountains or sterile tracts, and almost invariably upon the fertile margins of navigable streams. Within these limits the population of that old American world corresponded almost perfectly in its distribution with that of the new. These ancient citizens enjoyed a wide range of communication. Antiquarian research has gathered from the same mound the mica of the Alleghenies, obsidian from Mexico, native copper from the northern lakes, and shells from the southern Gulf." The mounds themselves are multitudinous in number, peculiar in structure, and varied in character. They are found scattered throughout the State, aggregating a large number which has never been estimated. The prevailing form of these structures is ellipsoidal or cone-like, many of them are pyramidal and of striking dimensions; they are always truncated, are sometimes terraced, and generally have graded and spiral ascents to the summits. These remains are variously classified according to the ingenuity of the writer, but all furnish abundant evidence of their artificial origin. The simplest classification is that which divides these structures into altar and temple and burial mounds, with others that do not readily fall into a distinct class. The first of this classification are supposed to have been places of sacrifice; are found within or near an enclosure; are stratified, and contain altars of stone, or of burned clay. Temple mounds are high places for ceremonial worship, and show no stratification, no evidence of human burial, no remains of altars, and stand in isolated positions. "Mounds of sepulture" are generally found isolated, unstratified in construction, and containing human remains. Other mounds have so little to mark the use to which they were devoted, that they have fallen into a fanciful classification, as mounds of observation, signal mounds, habitation mounds, etc. The temple, or terraced mounds, are said to be more numerous in Kentucky than in the States north of the Ohio River. The striking resemblance which these temple mounds bear to the teocallis of Mexico, has suggested the purposes to which they were devoted, as well as the name by which they are known. Some remarkable works of this class have been found in the counties of Adair, Trigg, Montgomery, Hickman, McCracken, Whitley, Christian, Woodford, Greenup and Mason. There are numerous mounds in Todd County, but to which of these classes they should be assigned it is difficult to determine from the meager accounts to be gained of them. But one or two have been examined, and these with insufficient care. Skeletons of extraordinary size were found, the skulls of which were passed over the head of a large man, and rested easily upon his shoulders. They were certainly not the remains of Indians, and are probably properly referred to the ancient builders of these mounds. Other works in the county are referred to the military structures of this people. The defensive or military character of an ancient work, seems to be indicated by its commanding position, its general strategic advantages, its contiguity to water, its exterior ditch, and its peculiar situation with reference to other works. There seems to have been a complete system of these defenses, extending from the sources of the Allegheny and the Susquehanna to the Wabash, as if designed by a peaceful and prosperous population to afford permanent protection against savage aggressions from the north and east. It has been suggested, however, that a tide of emigration flowing from the south, received its final check upon this line—these defenses marking the limit. Whatever be the correct theory, it seems certain that these defenses were not constructed by a migratory or nomadic people. They are the work of a vast population, well organized and permanently established on an agricultural basis. Within the limits of Kentucky the remains of ancient fortifications are numerous, but principally located in the northern part of the State. What was the final fate of these people is very obscure. Indian traditions point to the suggestion that the enemy against whom the northern line of defenses were built, were the Aborigines. While these are vague and little trusted by scholars, there are so many independent partial confirmations, that this theory seems to be gaining ground of late. An old Delaware tradition says, that many centuries ago, the Lenni-Lenape, a powerful race which swept in a flood of migration from the far West, found a barrier to its onward progress in a mighty civilization which was intrenched in river valleys east of the Mississippi. The people who occupied these fortified seats are traditionally denominated the Allegeni. The two nations thus confronting each other on the banks of the Mississippi, measured the situation with a civilized eye, the Lenni-Lenape diplomatically parleying for the right of passage, and the subtle Allegeni hypocritically affecting to hear. As a result of these negotiations, the Lenni-Lenape were treacherously assailed in an attempted passage, and driven back though not utterly destroyed by their perfidious foe. According to this tradition there was a coincident migration of the warlike Iroquois from the far West on a higher line of latitude, and these people sought a passage of the same stream at another point. The Lenni-Lenape recovering from their repulse, formed a league with the Iroquois, and the united force declaring a war of extermination against the Allegeni, reduced their strongholds, desolated their lands, and drove them southward in disastrous retreat. But this tradition of the Delawares does not stand alone. That the pre-historic inhabitants of Kentucky were at some indeterminate period overwhelmed by a tide of savage invasion from the north, is a point upon which Indian tradition is positive and explicit. It is related upon good authority that Col. James Moore, of Kentucky, was told by an old Indian, that the primitive inhabitants of this State had perished in a war of extermination waged against them by the Indians; that the last great battle was fought at the falls of the Ohio, and that the Indians succeeded in driving the Aborigines into a small island below the rapids, "where the whole of them were cut to pieces." This the Indian said was an undoubted fact handed down by tradition, and that the Colonel would have proofs of it under his eyes as soon as the waters of the Ohio became low. When the waters of the river had fallen, an examination of Sandy Island was made, and "a multitude of human bones was discovered." There is a similar confirmation by the Chief Tobacco, in a conversation with Gen. Clarke. It is said that the Indian Chief Cornstalk told substantially the same story to Col. McKee. The Chief said that Ohio and Kentucky had once been settled by a white people who were familiar with arts of which the Indians knew nothing; that these whites, after a series of bloody contests with the Indians, had been exterminated; that the old burial places were the graves of an unknown people, and that the old forts had not been built by Indians, but had come down from "very long ago" people, who were of a white complexion, and skilled in the arts. In addition to this traditional testimony, various and striking traces of a deadly conflict have been found all along the Ohio border. "And doubtless," says Dr. Pickett —from whose article the matter of this topic is largely drawn—"the familiar appellation of 'the dark and bloody ground' originated in the gloom and horror with which the Indian imagination naturally invested the traditional scenes and events of that strange and troubled period." It is not improbable that the bloodiest battles were fought on the navigable streams, and, judging from the nature of the fortifications in northern Kentucky, this State was the scene of some of the sternest conflicts. Kentucke, in the Indian language meaning "the river of blood," was a land of ill repute, and wherever a lodge fire blazed, "strange and unholy rumors" were busy with its name. Indians could not fully understand how white people could live in a country where such conflicts had filled the land with the ghosts of its slaughtered inhabitants. The Indians.—The relation of the Indians to the Mound-Builders has not been satisfactorily determined by scientists. Indian traditions are so vague, and so utterly lacking in the prime essentials for a scientific basis, that few archaeologists have taken them into the account. Some, however, have hazarded an hypothesis in accordance with the traditions mentioned above, while others (among whom the late Mr. Morrison, an account of whose researches in New Mexico have been published by the Smithsonian Institute), have taken the ground that the Indian is a degenerate descendant of these ancient people, and that the famed Montezuma, whose halls have furnished so rich a store of poetic illusion, was nothing but a dirty Indian in a mud hut. Whatever may be the truth in all this, the Indian still stands, by the great mass of evidence, an independent race, and the successor of the Mound-Builder, whose remains are found in this county as well as elsewhere in the State. Whether the traditions quoted sufficiently account for the fact or not, it remains unquestioned that the Indian did not choose to make his home in the "dark and bloody ground," and while the pioneers possessed the land only after a long and determined struggle, the early annals contain no record of the wigwam blaze or the council fires in this State. There are abundant evidences of their presence in Todd County, as there are of their predecessors, but the early settlement of the county seems to have been singularly free of those dangers and thrilling exploits so common in almost every settlement of Ohio at the same date. The nuclei of Kentucky's early settlement were at Boonesboro and Harrodsburg, and against these and their deploying stations the savages engaged in a bitter and determined struggle; but these were maintained from the region north of the Ohio, and ceased to be especially alarming to local communities by the beginning of the present century. The rock formation exposed in this county furnished an abundance of the material from which the Indians formed their implements, and places are pointed out in Todd where the debris would seem to indicate that the savages at some time had engaged in the manufacture of arrowheads on a large scale here. Many of the finished products have been found, some of unique design, but neither tradition nor reminiscence furnishes material "to point a moral or adorn a tale." The earliest settlers of the county did construct a fort on Spring Creek west of Guthrie, but it was probably on the general principle "that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure." Here women and children found security behind a strong stockade and bolted doors, while the men worked in the field with guns at their backs. There are no traditions of Indian hostilities perpetrated here, and while this peaceful issue contributed to the comfort and success of the early settlers, it leaves the chronicler of those times no "hair-breadth 'scapes mid the imminent deadly breach" with which to embellish his pages. The Pioneers.—The early immigration to the State of Kentucky, as has been noted, came to the blue grass region and upper Kentucky Valley. A few of the more adventurous spirits pushed out to the southwest in the upper valley of Green River, and of these were the founders of Davis Station in Christian County, and Justinian Cartwright, in Todd County, in 1792. It is to be regretted that the sketches of the Hon. Urban Kennedy, published in a county paper, have not been preserved intact; Through the care of W. P. Stephenson, a few fragments have been secured to which the following summary is principally indebted for its facts. At the time Davis' Station was established, the Indians were still actively engaged in a determined effort to repel the encroachments of the whites, and this settlement was disturbed, if not broken up, later in the year. Cartwright's seems to have escaped the general fate of outlying improvements, and the settlement of the county dates in an unbroken line from 1792. A trace ran from the Russellville settlement, established in 1780, to the cabin of Bat Woods, on the present site of Hopkinsville, and across this trace, about four and a half miles west of Elkton, Cartwright built his cabin. It was situated in the edge of some timber near a good spring, and was the only house in the territory since brought within the lines of Todd County. Here he fenced and cleared a small patch of ground and planted it to corn and Irish potatoes, which with the abundant game of the country placed him above danger of want. Cart-wright was a native of Maryland, of Scotch-Irish descent, and was the first Surveyor of Christian County. He was small in stature, but well made, and no mean antagonist in any contest. He had three sons, one of whom was a lawyer in Princeton (Caldwell County) afterward. In 1801, Robert Adams bought Cartwright's place, and in 1809 sold out to the father of Urban Kennedy. During this interval of some eighteen years, considerable additions were made to the settlement of this region, but of which there is no record in the fragments at hand. Mr. Kennedy's father was an old Revolutionary soldier, who, when the war was over, went to Greenbrier County, Va., married and settled down to farming and hunting in the Virginia mountains. Soon afterward in company with some forty or fifty families he emigrated to Kentucky, under the direction of Gen. William Logan. "They had to come in large companies, with pack-horses for their plunder, women and children, for in that day there were no wagon-roads through the wilderness. The men of the company, say 100 or more, took it afoot, armed with rifles, tomahawks and butcher-knives, keeping up a continual and vigilant military discipline both night and day. A brother-in-law of Kennedy's, Simon McCaffrey, was killed while acting as forerunner for the company. The whole party stopped first at Crab Orchard, Ky." Logan, Kennedy, the McKinneys, Burtons, Shackelfords and others came on to where Stanford now is, but what was then Logan's Station. Two years later, Kennedy, the Shackelfords, McKinneys, Burtons and Dooleys came eight miles west of Logan's, and built a block-house on the Hanging Fork of Dick's River. Here the little community suffered the vicissitudes of a frontier community, losing several of their number at the hands of the savages. In 1809 Kennedy sold his place here and moved to what is now Todd County. At this time this region was beginning to be sparsely settled. On the road from Russellville to Hopkinsville were found, three miles west of the first-named place, a Mr. Blakely; five miles further on was Simons' Springs; next George McLean; then Ephraim McLean, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, and father of Finis E. McLean; next was Jesse Irvine, at the creek west of the site of Daysville; then James Millen. The next "was a ditched field of about ten acres, without any cabin, belonging to Thomas Garvin, extending from near the public square of Elkton easterly nearly to the creek, and there was a small cabin near the spot where Ridley's 'Rathburn House' was burned, occupied by McIntosh, a hunter, who was a tenant of Maj. John Gray, to hold possession, as Gray and Garvin were at law for the land where Elkton now stands." Passing westward some five miles the improvement of a German, Kershner, was found; then George Tillerman, and next the Davis improvement in what is now Fairview. At this place and in the same cabin the Hon. Jefferson Davis was born. The elder Davis was a noted man in the country, and kept tavern here. A small mischievous lad, who plied the stranger guest with curious questions, has since gained notoriety as the head of the Southern Confederacy during the years of 1861-65. The nearest house to where Elkton now stands was the residence of Hon. Andrew New, then a Member of Congress from this district. He wore knee breeches, and was an old Virginia gentleman of the aristocratic type. The next nearest were William Blackwood, William Millen and Gideon Thompson, a half mile south of Millen's. The only water-mill was John Carson's, and was the first one in Todd County. It had one pair of runners, and the flour was "bolted" by hand. It was jocularly said to be doing a brisk business, for when it got one grain smashed it immediately attacked another. There were settlements at this time along the Elk Fork as follows: The Millens, Cunninghams, Coulters, Grahams, Chestnuts, and after some years D. N. Russell moved into the neighborhood. The next mill below Carson's was Smith & Laughlin's on the Gallatin road; then southwest of this mill lay the "pondy woods," with considerable timber, where were settled Henry Gorin, Gabriel Rooch, Elliot Vaughter; the last two married sisters of Maj. John Gray. In this neighborhood also lived James Allen, the first Coroner of Todd, and general auctioneer for all this country. He was of Irish origin, and in crying the sales of his employers made shrewd use of the wit which is popularly supposed to inhere in the son of Erin. When the enthusiasm lagged, and bids were reluctantly made, he would cry out, "Fair sale, gentlemen! and a dthram to the next bidder!" He always prepared himself for this emergency, and began his sale equipped with a bottle in one hand and his cane in the other. On Spring Creek, where it crosses the Nashville road, John Moore settled, and Maj. Samuel Moore settled on the site of Trenton, where the road from Clarksville to Greenville then crossed. He had located a large body of land, which he sold to Louis Leavell. Near him was Robert Coleman, and about two miles down the West Fork from Coleman's was Davis Station, where all the settlers forted. There lived the Davis family, the Clarks, the Blues, and Brewer Reeves. Then west of Coleman's lived the Bollingers, Kenners, Finleys, Norths, etc. Then, following up the creek, were the Adamses, McFaddens, and John Campbell, the old surveyor of Christian County. Henry Carpenter was one of the very first pioneers of the county, and lived in this vicinity. "He was a full-blooded Dutchman, and it was said when he cut the first timber at that place he was on a log chopping, his rifle standing near by, and his pipe in his mouth. The Indians slipped up near him and fired at him, putting a bullet hole through his shirt. He dropped his ax, picked up his gun, and started for the Davis Fort, some miles distant, on a sharp run, reaching it in safety, with his pipe still lighted." He afterward built a block-house with double doors, and port holes through which to defend himself against the savages should they attack. A half mile up the branch William Wallace had settled, and planted a large orchard, the first one in the county. He was of French extraction, raised a large family of boys, and in 1822 sold to Thomas Bryan. This settlement was made about 200 yards southeast of where Bell's Chapel now stands. A half mile east of this was Peter Thompson, a Dane. Coming north from this neighborhood were the improvements of Andrew and John Mann, and further up the creek that of Davis. In 1810 Matthew Logan settled on the east edge of Croghan's Grove, and the next, south of the Russellville and Hopkinsville road, was that of Kennedy already mentioned. The settlements north of the Russellville and Hopkinsville road at this date (1809) were probably very few, but the paper containing the article in which Mr. Kennedy describes them is so mutilated as to render his record of no avail to this work, and what information it is possible to glean at this time will be found under the head of the respective districts of that part of the county. Heretofore the immigration had drawn its strength from the emigrants of Virginia, who had settled at the earlier stations in Kentucky. In 1811 a fresh impetus was given to emigration, and large numbers were attracted to this fertile region from the older States. The tide now set in from North Carolina, coming by way of the Nashville and Gallatin roads, and at Moore's (Trenton) would take the Muhlenburg road. "You would see all sorts of old wagons, carts, pack-horses, pack-cows and oxen. Weary and worn out, the immigrants would call out, 'Well, can you tell me how far it is yet to the Pond River Country?' " Thus they passed through the very Eden of Kentucky to reach the rough, heavy timbered region of Pond River. A Kentucky Barren.—The name popularly applied to the region embraced within the limits of Barren, Warren, Simpson, Logan, and the lower part of Todd, Christian and Trigg Counties, is very misleading to the modern ear. To the pioneers of the early part of this century, impressed by the stern experiences of frontier life, it meant a land "where every prospect pleases" the eye only to dupe the understanding. They had been brought up in a timbered country, and had been educated to believe that it was necessary not only to their comfort but to their very existence. They had an exaggerated idea of the amount of timber needed for dwellings and fuel, and seemed to believe that soil too poor to grow it would scarcely grow anything else, while the exposed situation would expose them to the burning sun of summer and the fierce blasts of winter. The region thus early passed by presented a beautiful picture of the splendor and bounty of untrammeled nature. Unlike the great prairies of the Northwest, there was great variety in the configuration of the surface. Beautiful springs of unfailing water gave rise to small rivulets, which, uniting, formed branches of creeks, the banks of which were skirted by more or less extended groves. The more open places between streams had been kept clear by the fires kindled by the Indians so long as they were lords of the soil, but as their power waned hazel bushes made their appearance in great numbers, interspersed with sumac and timber saplings. There were long stretches where the sward, radiant with flowers and fruitful with a mass of wild strawberries, lay unbroken for miles. So prodigal was nature with these unappreciated bounties that the odors were wafted on the breeze for miles, while the cows came home at the milking hour with white legs stained a blood red by the berries crushed in their wanderings. Vast herds of deer bounded leisurely over the gently rolling meadows; great flocks of wild turkeys in their panoply of glittering green and blue plumage were met in every direction, and thousands of "barren hens" (similar to if not identical with the "prairie chicken") and quail could be had for the taking. Nor was there any remarkable dearth of timber, as in some of the early prairies of the Northwest. The region from Little River (Hopkinsville) to the Whippoorwill (Russellville) was devoid of timber save along the margin of the streams. The trace which connected these two points led along the open ground, and but one grove was to be found near it. This was a noted landmark known as Croghan's Grove, on the west branch of the West Fork of Red River. It was a military survey of 2,600 acres, heavily timbered and untouched by the ax. It belonged to Maj. Croghan of the Virginia Line. It has since been demonstrated that it needed only that the obstacles to the growth of timber should be removed to secure an ample supply. This fact, however, the experience of the pioneers furnished no means of discovering. In his sketches, Mr. Kennedy relates that: "In an early day his father had business at Clarksville, and concluded to come through to John Harray's, now (1875) John Holland's, who formerly had lived with him in Upper Kentucky. On his way through the barrens, he called at Maj. Moore's to get his breakfast and horse fed. In conversation, Mr. Kennedy spoke of settling in this country, when the Major offered to give him 200 acres of the choice barrens near Trenton, at fifty cents per acre, and offered him 200 acres for the horse he was riding, but Kennedy refused, saying he did not wish to starve or freeze for want of fire, or timber for building or fencing purposes, so he afterward came to where I now live and bought land at $4 per acre." The pioneers were undoubtedly less foolish than would seem at first glance to-day. More fencing was done than was absolutely necessary, and the kind in vogue, the old Virginia worm fence, was not the most economical kind, but some fencing was absolutely necessary, and in those days of limited cash and more limited markets, the purchase of timber was not to be seriously thought of. The Start in a New Country.—The first settlements were made in the timber, and the first step toward the establishment of a home was to clear a patch for corn and potatoes and plant a crop. The timber thus removed furnished material for the cabin and fences, which were then constructed. The earliest settlers generally brought their families to some strong station, and then, equipped with an ax, rifle, frying-pan and a small stock of salt and meal, the father would set out on a prospecting tour to be gone, frequently, for several months. Before his return he often made the first necessary clearing and erected a temporary hut to receive his family. Later, as cabins were found more frequently in the country, the immigrant had no hesitation in breaking up his home in a distant State, and with his family and household goods on wagons or pack animals start out for a new home, influenced and guided solely by rumors and picked-up information on the road. Deciding upon a locality for his future home, he found no difficulty in securing temporary shelter for his family in some cabin already well filled by its owners, but which the simplicity of early manners and an unstinted hospitality rendered elastic enough to comfortably entertain the welcomed addition to the community. A new arrival of this nature was heralded with welcome for miles about and a neighborhood which scarcely knew limits hastened to lend its friendly offices in rearing a house. A day was appointed, and no invitation was needed to draw together a company of willing, capable hands. To assist in raising a cabin for a new family was a duty which the unwritten law of the community imperatively laid upon every able-bodied man, and to know of the occasion was a sufficient invitation. On gathering, one party was told off as choppers, whose business it was to fell the trees and cut logs of proper dimensions; a man and team brought these logs to the site of the proposed building; others assorted, "saddled" and otherwise prepared the logs to form the structure, which was finished on one day and occupied on the next. The desires of the pioneer family were few and its necessities still less, so that the first efforts of the farmer were generally directed to the securing of food and shelter for his family. To this end nature gave her kindly aid. The pioneer brought with him his team and cows, the latter very frequently bearing in a pack a share of the family effects. Hogs were brought in, or were easily purchased from other settlers, and these animals found food and shelter in the barrens and timber with scarcely any care from the farmer. With one crop secured, there was no real danger of hunger. A mill was early built on Elk Fork, where the corn was converted into meal, or the wheat, when raised, converted into a coarse kind of flour. "Hog and hominy" was the general fare, though game and wild fruits and honey added a delicacy to the frontier feast which is scarcely surpassed to-day. The early farmer looked to the appreciation in the value of his land for his first profit, and in the absence of a market had little incentive to raising larger crops than the comfort of his family demanded. Clearing was the main end of his activities, but this gave him plenty of leisure for hunting which was generally fully improved. The early Kentuckian was bred to the use of the rifle and the pleasures of the chase, and considerable time was devoted to this pursuit by all, though all kinds of game were at first so abundant and unscared that it robbed the pleasure of much of its zest. Mr. Kennedy relates that in May, 1810, he and an old black woman, Margot, were working in a corn-field when they were attracted by a plaintive bleating in the adjoining bushes. "I said 'I must see what it was,' " he writes, "but she remonstrated, saying it might be very dangerous, but if I must go she would accompany me. Armed with our weeding hoes, we cautiously advanced through the barren grass and weeds, and discovered a beautiful fawn. It saw me almost at the same moment, and in its half-starved condition it staggered with all its capable speed up to me. Margot alarmed, cried out in fear and ran, but I gathered it up in my arms and brought it to the field. We took it to the house, gave it milk and reared it for some time, but eventually killed it by overfeeding. Some two weeks after the death of my fawn, I was sent to mill with a sack of corn. As I was jogging along on an old horse we called Blennerhassett, I discovered the head and neck of a deer above the grass. I stopped old Blenner, and while looking at it, I saw it sink gradually down and hide in the grass and weeds. Keeping my eyes closely on the spot, I rode cautiously along thinking I might find another fawn. When within twenty yards of the spot, the deer dashed off, but I rode on, and under a small crab-apple bush I discovered not ten feet away, quite a young fawn crouched upon the ground and perfectly still. I stopped old Blenner, rose to my feet on the sack of meal and sprang at full length upon the little creature, seizing it firmly with both hands. Alarmed lest its cries would call its mother back to its defense, I seized it by the hind legs, placed it over the horse and scrambling on after it, took it home. We reared it to a fine deer which was the pride and delight of our home." Another incident of raising a fawn is so remarkable, and at the same time so well vouched for, that it is worth recording: Messrs. Kennedy and Mann went one day to the Clay Lick on the Greenville road, which was a famous resort for game, to shoot a deer. A fine doe was soon secured, but on Mann's cutting its throat to bleed the animal, he discovered she was with young. With his hunting knife he quickly released a living fawn which struggled and rolled upon the grass. Carefully wrapping it up it was conveyed to Mr. Mann's cabin, where his wife fed it and put it in a hamper of picked wool. About daylight the next morning it jumped out of the basket and ran over the house bleating until it was fed again. This animal was kept two years and became a fine buck, but was accidentally run down and killed by a neighbor's hound. Early Hunting in Todd.*—" After our West Fork country became somewhat densely settled, and the game became rather scarce, we branched out to the north part of Todd on the head waters of Pond River and Clifty, to hunt. On the Greenville road there were no settlements from Sears' to Shuffield's near the Muhlenburg line. This part of Todd was then heavily timbered and interspersed with hills, and many deep bottoms between the yawning cliffs. There had been some small settlements and cabins in an earlier time, but were nearly all deserted at the time of which I write. The first camp hunt in 1827 was made by John Petree, James Snaden, John Willis, J. Walker and myself. Snaden had a small mule called 'Jeff,' and he was geared to a cart in which we stowed our provisions and started along the Greenville road; you would have been diverted to have seen us climb the hills. Jeff was a good mule, but he was overloaded, and when he couldn't make the hill, we would alight from our horses and push the cart to the top of the hill; we were all stout and hearty and enjoyed the sport of helping Jeff with his load. " Well, we got as far as, now Bivinsville, or as it is called, Lickskillet. Near the spring, Howell Edwards had built a cabin which he afterward sold to John Bivin; this cabin was unoccupied, and we lodged in it and hunted three or four days. All of us were strangers to that region, and only knew what I had learned by surveying and locating the vacant lands in that wilderness. My old friend, Capt. William Hopper, came to us and told us about the stands and crossing of the game which we found to be plentiful. We killed seven deer and several wild turkeys, and returned home greatly elated with our success. We had a neighborhood clan of hunters, and we organized and went every fall, and spent some ten days, sometimes twice in the same fall. Hazel Petrie, James Snaden, Nat Burrus, Reuben Ellison, John Petree and myself were the main hands, and after a few years others would join our hunts, to wit: Joe and John Gordon and their sons, John A. Bailey, Allen and Thomas Bailey, James Claggett and Uncle Johnny Christian would cross the cliffs when he heard our horns and hounds, and stay with us while we stayed. We would load our wagons with corn and fodder, boiled ham, and fat middling, for broiling, plenty of bread, sugar and coffee, cheese, etc. We took a boy with us to cook and take care of our camp in our absence. We went further down the ridge than at first, to an old cabin called the Rainwater's Cabin, where James Greenfield now resides. Our nearest neighbors were James and Williamson Chappell, some two or three miles distant. We had a joyful, pleasant time of it; we would sleep with our feet to the fire, and we enjoyed good health; our rustic manner of living added to our health and spirits, and we never got sick. If any of us left home a little puny or complaining, we always returned hale and hearty; we generally stayed eight or ten days. When Sabbath came we kept it as at home: tied up our hounds and never fired a gun, but read our Bibles and rested from our hunts. All were religious, and all Methodists (of the first named party) except myself and Col. Burrus; he was a Campbellite, and said he gloried in the name, and I was a Cumberland. Sometimes at night, or on Sabbaths, we would join issue on religious subjects, but always in a good-humored, Christian spirit. We generally had a jug of good whisky, and would all partake in the morning, or when we came in weary at night, except old brother H. Petrie, 'who was always down on us for drinking drams.' I recollect one of his cuts he made at us as we were taking our morning dram; turning to me, he said: 'Urban, how many drams like that would make you drunk?' 'Well,' I answered, 'Hazel, I suppose about four would make me tight.' 'Well, now,' said he, 'you are now one-fourth drunk.' The argument was new, and I have often thought of it. * Urban Kennedy's sketches. "We had a good high time of it; killed about eighteen fine fat deer, and would roast and broil the fat ribs, melts and livers. Oh! it was fine. We killed many fine, fat turkeys, dried their wings for fans, and salted the meat to take home to our wives and children, for wild turkey is greatly preferable to tame. Some of us were in favor of taking a still hunt in the morning, but Brothers Petrie, Snaden and Burrus were opposed to it. Well, one morning about daylight, John Petree, Reuben Ellison and myself took our guns and started for a still hunt. I had a good shot-gun, John Petree, a good rifle, R. Ellison carried two guns, one of which was a most excellent shot-gun, borrowed from Col. R. E. Glenn; its name was Niggerlegs; the other a large smooth bore that carried an ounce ball. All of our guns were single barreled, and had flint locks. We proceeded to slip cautiously along about 150 yards apart, all abreast. After having gone about a mile, John Petree killed a very fat doe, which we hung up near where Sam McGehee now lives, and then started back towards camp, Petree on the edge or bench of the cliffs, Reuben Ellison 150 yards from him, and I about the same distance outside, all moving on cautiously abreast. As I was passing through a small sumac thicket, I saw a remarkably large buck with ten points on each beam, come tilting right, to meet me, and was within thirty yards of me. I threw my gun up and hallooed, 'Where are you going?' He turned to my left, and at about the fourth jump I fired at his head and neck, thinking to down him right there, but when the gun fired he stopped still and stuck his head forward, but never looked round at me nor moved a foot or tail. I then tried to load my gun, but was so excited I couldn't find my ammunition, and couldn't take my eyes off of the big buck. I forgot my comrades, but soon heard the bushes cracking. I looked round, and there came Ellison with his two guns. He said, 'Urban, what did you shoot at?' I beckoned him to come to me, silently, and when he got close up to me, I pointed to the buck. He whispered, 'I'll throw him.' I squatted down and told him to shoot-over me. He raised his ounce-ball 'Fritz,' and fired at his heart. I had nothing to do but watch the shot, and when Fritz went off I saw the bullet hole in his side, that looked like I could have put my fist through it, but he never shook his tail nor winked his eye, nor moved his ear. Reuben looked astonished, and said, 'Urban, what on yearth?' Said I, 'Reuben, give him Niggerlegs,' and so he put seventeen buckshot right through the same place, and yet he never moved or winked his eye. Reuben said again, 'That beats all on yearth.' Well, here came John Petree, asking, 'What have you been shooting at?' We pointed to the buck, still standing. 'Well,' said John, 'I can throw him,' and stepping forward he took aim at his eye, and his priming having got damp, his rifle flashed, and at the same moment down came the buck. On examination I found I had shot a hole through his ear, and that several shots had struck his horns, and one had gone under the burr of his horn. The bullet had gone through his heart, and with all this he stood upright for some time. Science may explain it, but I cannot." In addition to the food game, black bear, panthers, wild cats and wolves were quite numerous in the county. They were a great annoyance to the early farmers. Calves, pigs and sheep were destroyed, unless protected, and were only preserved by the greatest care. Unsparing war was made upon them from the first, and nothing of the kind, save wild cats and foxes have been seen here since about 1827. The Cabin.—The log-cabin was the universal residence for years. But there are distinctions even in this simple class of structures, and the majority of those found here were of the better sort. While the larger number of the first settlers were not wealthy for even that day, there were some that were well-to-do, and there was manifested a disposition to secure all the comforts to be had at the cost of labor simply. The cabins therefore were as neat and comfortable as the rude carpentery and materials at hand would afford. The roof was made of clapboards; boards were supplied by splitting a piece of straight-grained timber with a froe. These were about four feet long, as wide as the timber would admit, and used indoors and elsewhere without further dressing. Puncheons, split trees of about eighteen inches diameter, and smoothed upon the upper surface with a broad-ax, supplied the floor. The furniture was generally made from the same material and fashioned with an ax. A split slab supported by four legs did duty as a table; three-legged stools took the place of chairs, while the bedstead was made to go upon one leg. At a proper distance from the side of the cabin, adjacent to a corner, a single fork was placed with the lower end in a hole in the floor and the upper end fastened to a joist. Resting on this fork, and projecting at right angles to each other, were two poles„ the other end of which found support upon the logs of two sides of the building. Upon this support was placed the foundation of the bed, which was really a fixture of the house. Thoughtful housewives brought with them the cord and tick. The latter was filled with dry leaves until the first corn crop furnished a better substitute in the husks. A few pegs on which to hang the limited spare clothing, and a buck-horn on which to hang the rifle, completed the wood-work of a frontier home. The fire-place was a large affair, and the cabin was sometimes so arranged that a log could be dragged in by a mule and rolled into its capacious jaws as a back-log. The lower part was constructed of stone, and above this a chimney of "cat and clay" reached to the height of the ridge of the cabin. This was the average dwelling until the manufacture of brick and lumber made more convenient houses possible. There were a few cabins which were quite pretentious, and one of these had the first shingle roof in the county. It belonged to Adams, who sold out to Kennedy in 1809, and is thus described by the latter: "Adams was a thrifty, industrious man, and said to my father, 'I gad, I thought I would build the best and finest house in all this country!' It was constructed of large, hewed white oak logs, twenty-four feet long by eighteen feet wide, covered with black walnut shingles rounded at the butt end, and every one put on with walnut pegs, bored through shingles and lath with a brace and bit. It was a good roof, and lasted about thirty years. Then the lower and upper floors were laid with poplar planks sawed by hand with a whip-saw, nicely dressed, tongued and grooved, and put down with pegs. Three windows two feet square, with nice shutters but not a pane of glass, nor a nail in all the house save in the three doors. For these a few nails were made by a blacksmith, his brother, Andy Adams. The chimneys were of stone, the first in the country, and contained at least 150 wagon-loads of rock. The fire-places were six feet wide, with wooden mantel-pieces." The frontier cabin was the scene of busy activity. House-keeping was crowded into the smallest possible space to give place to the spinning-wheel and loom. Every woman took pride in such useful accomplishments as were involved in the preparation of the crude material, the manufacture of the fabric, and the fashioning of the wearing apparel of the whole family. The dress of the settlers was generally of primitive simplicity. The hunting shirt was worn universally. This costume was peculiarly adapted to the pursuits and habits of the people, and has been connected with so many thrilling passages of war and wild adventure that the Kentucky hunting shirt is famous throughout the world. This was usually made of linsey, sometimes of coarse linen, and a few of dressed deer-skin. The bosom of the dress was fashioned to form a wallet, to hold a piece of bread, cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the barrel of the gun, and any other necessary for the hunter or warrior. The belt, which was always tied behind, answered several purposes besides that of holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens and sometimes the bullet bag occupied the front part of it. To the right side was suspended the tomahawk, and to the left the scalping-knife in its leathern sheath. A pair of drawers, or breeches and leggins, were the dress of the thighs and legs, and a pair of moccasins answered for the feet. Hats were made of the native fur. The dress of the women consisted of linen and linsey-woolsey. An overshadowing sun bonnet of linen, neatly washed and ironed, and a check made of the heavier material furnished the dress. This, with a pair of heavy cowhide shoes, made the lady's outfit for the most showy occasion. With the increase of settlements, about 1811, society began to show some efforts to supersede this primitive style, and calico and broadcloth "began to be seen more frequently. In 1820 it was not unusual to see on court days or special occasions considerable of the old magnificence of dress, as there were quite a number in the county who possessed considerable wealth. As described by Mr. Kennedy, "the garb of the sages, the ministers and the representative community, particularly at church on high days, were first, a fine cloth or velvet coat, cut round-breasted, with long or swallow tail; large, gilt buttons on both sides, set from the collar to the waist; then a vest, if for winter of swan's down, if for summer, beautiful white marseilles, with small gilt buttons; then, what we call pants, were 'breeches,' made for winter of cloth or velvet or corduroy; nankeen or home-made flax for summer, reaching down from the waist to the knee, at which point a cloth band reaching around close below the knee, with a silver buckle on the outside of each knee; then a long stocking, of worsted for winter, and silk or home-knit fleece for summer, the knee-band buckled tight around the top instead of a garter; then a pair of shoes with silver buckles on the outside of the instep. A white and black stock with a silver buckle took the place of a cravat. The hat was black, of fur or mixture of lamb's wool and fur, with very large brim, and if worn by an officer or man of distinction the brim was cocked with a silver boss to fasten it to the owner. If not disposed to dress in the above style, they wore what we call pants, but were then called 'over-alls.' If they wore boots, which was rare, they were long to the knee, with a scallop in the front top with a silk tassel hanging down some three inches; these were known as 'fair-tops,' a nice piece of very fair leather. I forgot to speak of the finishing touch. Nearly all that could sported a queue. The back hair was suffered to grow long; this they wrapped up like a pig-tail, bound round with blue or pink ribbon with a double bow-knot; and if the hair was not long enough, some false hair was nicely spliced to the stub, and I have seem them reach down to the waist. The ladies of the same grade of society were less elaborate. A few silk gowns, bombazet and ginghams—often homespun—with what was then called a 'spencer,' was the in-door dress. Their hats or bonnets were of straw or silk, moderately trimmed. The gown was not so long as to hide a pair of nice shoes and buckles, and fine silk or thread stockings." Amusements.—The early sports were allied to useful occupations. Quiltings, wool-pickings and spinning-bees were made up by the women, when the afternoon was given to work and the night to games, the young men coming in to share the entertainment and escort the girls home. House-raisings, log-rollings and husking-bees were occasions when the men after a hard day's work would spend the evening with the young women invited in. As society developed, however, the times showed "smart signs of wickedness" in place of these earlier amusements. Horse racing, shooting matches, raffling and dancing came in to disturb the staid people of the community, and intoxicate the young and giddy. Dancing had formed a part of the amusements at social gatherings, but then the jig danced by a gentleman and lady, the four and eight-hand reel and the horn pipe had prevailed. But when the cotillion and waltz came upon the floor it brought out the strongest disapproval. In the fall and winter of 1811 Armstrong Bailey, Jesse Irvine and Farrow White, all from near the present site of Daysville, came in company with a dancing master, and made up a dancing school at John Harvey's. This dancing accomplishment took the fancy of the young people and soon became the gossip of the neighborhood. Several of the young church members were enticed by a desire to improve their steps, a circumstance which precipitated the storm of opposition that had been slowly gathering. Rev. Finis Ewing and Ephraim McLean as ministers, and Thomas Bryan and William Downey waited on Harvey and the dancing party, and begged them to desist. But Harvey and his guests laughed at the idea, and quoted the example of David and the Old Testament saints. The dancing proceeded, and it is said even church members would go and look on with evident pleasure. Things went merrily on for several weeks, when the earthquake came, and that put an end to the dancing. Courtship and Marriage.—Attending church had other merits to the young gallants of long ago than vigorous preaching. It was quite the thing if a young man had the means to escort his lady to church on horse back. The less fortunate walked and then "went home" with his girl after services. On such occasions it was no uncommon thing after getting out of sight of the church for the young lady to remove her morocco slippers and fine stockings and walk home with her escort barefooted. If Kennedy is to be trusted "the general custom was to see your sweetheart at night, take your seat by her and embrace her in your arms, with many kisses, sometimes reciprocated; take her on your lap, with your arms wound around each other in all innocence and virtue." In describing an instance, when with a friend he put this theory in practice, Kennedy relates the story as follows: "Well, Henry took his girl to one corner and I the other one in the remote opposite corner. We sat down as close as we could, and Henry laid off his fine beaver (which cost $12) carefully in the corner near the wall, and happened to set it very plumb in the skillet in which they had fried meat for supper. It was quite dark in the house, the little fire had gone out, so we enjoyed ourselves until the small hours of the night. I proposed that we leave, and Henry, seizing his hat by the brim, raised with it the skillet and all. The gravy, a half inch deep, had cooled enough to stick tight. He soon discovered the situation, and the poor girls were greatly mortified. They got a little stump of a tallow dip, and with a case knife we scraped it all we could. We were not in the habit of swearing, but Henry said he could not do the subject justice without some profanity." The early settlers generally married young. There was no distinction of rank and but little of fortune; a bachelor was a helpless body as a pioneer, and a family establishment cost little more than labor to provide. These early weddings were picturesque affairs, as described by one who witnessed many of them. "In the morning of the wedding-day the groom and his attendants assembled at the house of his father for the purpose of proceeding to the home of his bride, which it was desirable to reach by noon, the usual time of celebrating the nuptials, which ceremony must at all events take place before dinner. On approaching within a mile of the house two young men would single out to run for the bottle, which, well filled with whisky, was in waiting for the successful competitor at the end of the race. The more difficult the path the better, as obstacles afforded an opportunity for the greater display of intrepidity. Returning to the company the victor distributed the contents to the company. After the marriage ceremony the whole company proceeded to dinner, which consisted of beef, pork, fowls, game and vegetables. After dinner the dancing began, which continued until late at night or till morning. About 9 or 10 o'clock a deputation of ladies stole off the bride and put her to bed. This done, a deputation of young men in like manner led off the groom and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still continued, and if seats happened to be scarce every young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for one of the girls, and the offer was sure to be accepted. In the midst of this hilarity the bride and groom were not forgotten. Pretty late in the night some one would remind the company that the new couple must be in need of some refreshments; 'Black Betty'—the name of the bottle containing whisky—was called for and sent up-stairs, but generally it went well attended. Sometimes as much of the substantial edibles of the dinner as would suffice for a half-dozen working men would be sent also, and the new couple were obliged to partake of both. The marriage over, the same company took a lively interest in seeing the newly-married pair well settled. A site was chosen on the property of one of the parents, and if not already built a cabin was put up, and when ready for occupation, the house-warming gave occasion for another merry-making, with dancing continued far into the night." But these pioneer scenes, with their simple-hearted actors, their homely joys, their trials and their achievements have passed away "as a tale that is told." The changes which have concurred to make the advancement of the present are not unmixed with evil, and the few who remain as connecting links between that day and this may well be pardoned the "Sigh for the grace of a day that is dead." Submitted by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com Additional Comments: Extracted from: COUNTIES OF TODD AND CHRISTIAN, KENTUCKY. HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL. EDITORS: J. H. BATTLE, TODD COUNTY HISTORY. W. H. PERRIN, CHRISTIAN COUNTY HISTORY. ILLUSTRATED. F. A. BATTEY PUBLISHING CO., CHICAGO AND LOUISVILLE. 1884. 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