Old Kentucky

Contents

Page.

Preface, 9

Chapter.

Preface

In 1788 the savage Indians roamed almost at will all over the territory now known as Kentucky. In 1792 Kentucky was admitted as a State of the Union. Nothing in the history of this country, and perhaps of the world, shows such rapid development of a people In founding settlements and making homes for their families. It seems almost like a fairy tale. It is safe to say that no State in the American Union has had such a unique history as Kentucky. It has no parallel. And this progress was accomplished by the most fearful sacrifices, the most heroic actions, and the history of it all is written in blood. All things considered, there is no population similar to the people who accomplished these results.

Tennessee was very much like Kentucky, and it is to be hoped that some of her sons will put in permanent and compact form a history of her achievements as I am trying to do for my native State. It goes without saying that the Kentuckians have always been considered a peculiar people, and wherever they are found they still manifest the characteristics of their ancestors.

No people are more proud of their native State than are the Kentuckians, and this is well. Men who have no pride of ancestry or devotion to their homes can never accomplish much. The majority of the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians scattered throughout the country have, from tradition and otherwise, some knowledge of the achievements of their forefathers, but nowhere can be found in concise form a book which will verify all their claims. And nothing can be of more value to Kentuckians, or lo Old Kentucky

to others who want to know these facts and have them in compact form, than such a book if properly prepared.

In this work there is no fiction, no guessing. The facts are presented and may be relied upon. The peculiar characters and characteristics of the State have been faithfully portrayed, from the negro and the poor white people, to the most exalted citizen; the mode of life, superstitions, and peculiarities from the most humble to the highest have been touched upon.

In the beginning the task of preparing such a book seemed more than I cared to undertake; but as the work progressed it became a real pleasure, and brought up old memories that made me feel almost like a boy again mingling with his own people. I wish to acknowledge the pleasure received from very kind letters written by many of the most eminent men of the nation to encourage me to undertake and accomplish this work. From General Bell, the chief of staff of the Army, from the President of the United States, from Justice Harlan of the Supreme Court, from governors and most distinguished men, I received kind and almost affectionate replies to every letter that I addressed, with one exception.

If the work accomplishes what I intended it to do It will not have been in vain. The main design has been to paint Kentucky, to hold up her virtues, to unite her sons in a higher estimate of what the State has been and is, and to lead their children to a strenuous effort to live lives becoming the descendants of such people.

After having spent half of my life in college work, I retired In order that I might enjoy social life and the pleasure derived from general reading. It was known among many of my personal friends that I

Preface 1 1

was the connecting link between this generation and my people, who went to Kentucky before it was admitted as a State; that I was thoroughly imbued with the Kentucky spirit, and that I had been reared among those who took the most active part in the winning of Kentucky and in its settlement. Many prominent men, some of whom were not Kentuckians, urged me to write a book of reminiscences bringing out the characteristics of old-time Kentuckians, and I decided to write a monologue, anonymously, to please friends and as a pleasant employment during my leisure hours.

This undertaking was almost completed, when I decided, upon consultation with friends, to write a book of more permanent value. Many beautiful stories have been told of Kentucky life; but nothing, so far as I know, has been put in permanent form to give such information as ought to be given to the people of Kentucky or other people having an interest in the history of the State.

At this time "The Winning of the West" fell into my hands, and I found that the distinguished author of that work had taken more pains to show the character and struggles of the Kentuckians and the bordermen than had the author of any other work. "The Winning of the West" is of thrilling interest, and has done more to show in a true light what Kentucky has done in the winning of the West than have all the histories of the State. It is a book written by an honest, disinterested, capable man, who has taken more pains to give references and to substantiate his facts than any Kentuckian has even done. Had a native of the State cited such facts as are brought out in "The Winning of the West," multitudes of people would have said it was simply the boastings of a Kentuckian. My admiration for the man who had done such service for Kentucky and Kentuckians was very great. I threw the old manuscript aside, and desired even more to produce something of more permanent vakie. It occurred to me that if I could make free use of "The Winning of the West" there would be little use for any other historic statements than could be found in that work.

In a kind personal letter from President Roosevelt he gave his consent that I make free use of anything he had written, and authorized me to use it at will. I determined, instead of quoting him at different points, to put the statements that I wished to use in a chapter by themselves; and while, necessarily, there is some little lack of connection in the statements used, it makes a most valuable chapter, and will be accepted in fullest confidence. I wish here to express tO' President Roosevelt my sincere thanks for the inspiration his book has given me and for his kind and cordial consent to the free use of it. Were it in place here, I could express my highest admiration for him as a man, for I consider him one of the most remarkable characters that ever filled the chair of Chief Executive; able, bold, and independent, one who, in all his convictions, can be trusted. I speak this, not as a politician, for I have always been a Democrat of the old school. But his worth compels unbounded admiration.

It was my purpose to close the book at the period of the civil war, and to tell simply of old Kentucky times. But after thought, it seemed that this would leave the book incomplete, and would leave out a large part of the achievements of the State.

It was thought, too, that it would add interest to sketch the progress of the State from the earliest times to the end of the first century of her existence. Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, the

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founder of the Filson Club, who, President Roosevelt says, "possesses the most complete library in the world on all subjects connected with Kentucky history," agreed to furnish a brief sketch of Kentucky's progress during the first hundred years of her history. It gives me pleasure to say that I think no man living could have done It better than Colonel Durrett, and I wish to extend to him my hearty thanks for what he has done to give value to this book.

All of Kentucky history is not confined within the geographical limits of the State. In a large measure, Missouri character in the early days was but an outgrowth of Kentucky character, for Missouri is a part of Kentucky as Kentucky is a part of Virginia. The three States stand in the relation of mother, daughter, and granddaughter. It was determined to trace Kentucky influence upon Missouri, and for this work I selected Ex-Gov. Thos. T. Crittenden. Governor Crittenden comes from one of the most distinguished families of Kentucky, he Is one of the most elegant gentlemen who ever went out from the State, and he Is familiar with the history of both States. Governor Crittenden has extensive acquaintance, having served In the United States Congress as long as he wanted to, having served Missouri as Governor In a very Important period of the State's history, and having represented this countrv as Minister to Mexico. But when the matter for the book was all put together It was found the volume would be too large and that full iustice could not be done to Missouri ; so I determined to save Governor Crittenden's manuscript entire, and to use It In a book I have In preparation, ''Old Missouri, or The Pikers."

In order to show his Interest In this undertaking, Hon. Champ Clark contributes a chapter on^ "Kentucky During the Civil War," especially to bring out the character of one of Kentucky's most honored sons, Justice Harlan of the Supreme Court.

One of the most noted social gatherings ever held in this countiy was the Home-Coming held at Louisville; and it was felt that the book would be incomplete were not mention made of this. It was thought that many of the speeches made on that occasion ought to be preserved; and in order that the book might not be too large, I laid aside a large part of my manuscript to give way to these things that ought to be kept as a perpetual memorial.

The part I have taken in this book is largely to represent Kentucky character. It was understood among us all that no effort should be made at literary display and that the style should be conversational. I have tried to say what I had to say as would an old-time Kentuckian, a plain, home-like fellow, without display. So I have no apology to offer for the style in which I have written my part of the book.

Chapter I

Kentucky has been called the Scotland of America ; and, everything considered, not without reason. When we come to consider the question of who the earlier settlers were, it will be clearly seen that the Scotch-Irish had much tO' do in the formation of Kentucky character. In resources, climate, and natural surroundings Scotland has nothing to compare with this wonderland; while Scotland has wilder and more striking scenery, Kentucky has enough of natural beauty to awaken every sentiment inherent in the bosom of noble people, and to call forth their best energies. Nature seems to have left nothing to be desired in this fruitful, beautiful land — "The Dark and Bloody Ground."

Every part of the State has some attractive scenic feature. From the mountains on the east side to the beautiful green river country; from the diversified and attractive counties along the Ohio River to the southern border there are found resources ample to produce the greatest comforts of civilized life: enchanting scenery, rich valleys, sparkling waters, rich soil and kind climate, adapted to the culture of everything that produces wealth and comfort, — hemp, tobacco, corn, fruit of the finest, rich grass, fine herds. But why try to describe an indescribable land? Travel through all the States and you will find only one Kentucky.

Our study of early Kentucky life will be confined principally to the blue-grass section, of which we know the most; and in that section perhaps, all things considered, will be found the conditions and characteristics that have rendered the State most known.

In the eastern and southeastern parts are wild mountains; and here may be found people who for generations have had their homes and loved them — men as bold, untamed, and rugged as any in the Highlands of Scotland. They are not robbers or outlaws, but from long residence there, cut off from the outside world, and intermarried until families are like clans, grudges have been handed down, until they give rise to feuds and often to bloodshed. The people are hospitable, and as ready to defend themselves and their honor — or supposed honor — as the Campbells or McGregors in their native Highlands. The faults of the mountaineers have been magnified; and many outsiders have judged Kentucky character from these people. Though the tide of a high civilization has swept around them, they yet have feuds and bloodshed which have rendered them famous — or infamous — as viewed from more peaceful surroundings. They have fine physiques, and many have brain-power of no mean order. These mountaineers constitute one type of the Kentuckian; and while they are tO' be admired in some respects and pitied in others, all the people of the State cannot be judged by them.

The State, as a whole, as we have said, is wonderfully beautiful and diversified. On the north is the smooth-flowing Ohio, into which numerous bright streams and small rivers pour their waters, gathered from hills and myriads of living springs. No' part of Kentucky is without springs, living springs — the joy of the people who drink their waters. The murmuring brooks and sparkling little rivers, full of fish, — where many a congressman, senator, or governor of other States lingered in boyhood, fished, and learned to swim, — are a delight. One of the most beautiful streams in the country is the Kentucky River. It comes gliding down from the mountains, dancing through rugged cliffs, romantic hills, and flowering vales like a graceful, happy maiden out on a May morning rejoicing amid charming scenes. Nature placed everything in Kentucky to support and enrich her inhabitants; and the best people naturally went there.

Whether heredity or environment has most to do with character is a question as yet unsettled, but nothing is truer than the law of "Kind after its kind"; everywhere In nature this Is seen, In herds. In flocks. In fruits and flowers. And in considering human beings, heredity must be taken Into account. As a rule, the Kentucklans of the first generation were tall, vigorous, athletic, fearless, and hospitable, and their fathers were such — no other class of men could have endured what they did. The State was cut off from the seaboard and from the original thirteen States by dark and gloomy mountains. To get to Kentucky Immense and dark forests, seeming without limit, were to be traversed. Wild beasts were to be encountered, and fiercer than beasts were the murderous, brutal Indians. Cowards, weaklings, and imbecile men dared not approach this unknown land; such could never have taken and held It. Unmentionable outrages upon men, women, and children aroused the worst passions, and called Into action every nerve of brave manhood.

Some sentimentalists will say that the whites had no right to go there to Invade the Indian's country. Why? Was Kentucky claimed by any one tribe of Indians? Did any tribe own the country or have a right there? It was common ground, made by the

Creator, and from time immemorial it was free to any who might be able to occupy it — a common, free hunting-ground. It was full of game; its rich soil furnished food for every species of wild animal, and when, in winter, the prairies west of the Ohio failed, the rich, inexhaustible supplies of the blue-grass region furnished abundance.

As soon as it was generally known what there was in Kentucky to render home-making the most delightful, — though everything possible to endure, — the bravest, strongest, most home-loving people were anxious to go there and build homes. On the one hand everything to dread, everything to endure, every privation to be anticipated — ^yet men were ready to shoulder the gun and axe, to leave their old home surroundings and seek this new land of promise. The women who went with them were braver, more self-sacrificing, and heroic than the men; for they saw that they were liable to suffer more, to endure tortures that men could not, in nature, have to endure. And many of them did endure hardships that cannot be imagined, and some of them endured unmentionable tortures when captives of the most brutal creatures known to history. Yet they were willing to leave homes, parents, girlhood friends, and make their way with their husbands and little children to the far-off land. And it is astonishing how rapidly the territory was filled, how soon these backwoods people won it from the savages and placed it among the sister States of the country, and how much they did to make possible the settlement of the great West and Northwest.

Of course, Kentucky alone did not do all this. Tennessee, like a twin sister, aided her, and without one the other could never have done it. This government owes to these two States, more than to all the others, the winning of the great Southwest; and without them, when the War of the Revolution was over, the boundary of the nation would scarcely have been beyond the Ohio River, and it might have been a long time before the great Louisiana Purchase could have been made. Daniel Boone first entered Kentucky in 1769, but it was some years after that before he brought his family to the State and established Boonesboro. In less than twenty years, in 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union; and grand Isaac Shelby, the Indian-fighter, hero, and statesman, was made Governor. While it took the colonies on the Atlantic seaboard more than a century and a half to spread from the ocean to the Alleghanles, these backwoodsmen, almost single-handed, with no regular troops or government support, fighting almost as individuals, held together only by common interest and love, drove back the very flower of Indian warriors, commanded by the most skillful chiefs, and in less than one generation had hewn down forests, builded their simple homes, and won their State, now, as then, recognized as one of the loveliest in the Union.

Who were the early settlers of Kentucky? We shall try to give reliable information, and will give historical facts, though this is not to be a histor\\ To my mind there are certain things to be taken into account when one would form a just appreciation of a people — their surroundings, and the time in which they liv^ed.

What I shall say here may be considered a digression, but it is on my mind to say it. The first thing is, that after careful and extended reading of history for half a century I have reached the conclusion that history cannot be understood without taking into consideration the wise, guiding, and inscrutable ways of the Providence that has developed and led the human race. From the human standpoint many things in the development of the race cannot be understood. It seems that the Almighty, on this little planet among all the magnificent worlds he has made, may be giving lessons to the inhabitants of other worlds on the terrible effects of sin. It may at least be hoped that no other world has had so sad a history. The human race has been developed, scattered, civilized, all by means of war and bloodshed, aided by Christianity. In the beginning of human history we find that man became a sinner; and God chose "a peculiar people" through whom he might reveal himself to the world. In the course of time these people were permitted for one hundred years to become slaves in Egypt, then perhaps the most progressive of any of the people of the earth. The Hebrews had been promised the beautiful land of Palestine and had been held back from possession of it because of their sin and rebellion, yet God intended them to occupy it. When the Israelites went out of Egypt from slavery they were not fitted to become immediately what it was purposed they should be. For forty years they were kept in tutelage in the wilderness, until all that generation except two of the slaves and Idolaters perished. During these forty years the grandest laws that man was ever permitted to know were given to the great law-giver of the Hebrews, and when the time came for the new generation to enter Into the promised land they were led by the guidance of the Almighty to dispossess and destroy a wicked and Idolatrous people that held the land as mere squatters, and there never was a word said, or the question raised as to their right to drive out those who used their splendid possessions and opportunities for crime and Idolatry. The people that went in to take Canaan were a chosen people, selected for that very purpose.

Later there was a great contest as to whether the East and the hordes of Asia should hold control over Europe. Greece had at an early time stood as a bulwark, and all of Alexander's conquests were doubtless guided by a higher wisdom than his, for many of his victories seemed miraculous. Then the Roman Empire assumed its place, and it was a question for a long time whether the hordes of Asia would succeed, or whether Carthage or Rome should assume the ascendancy. At the introduction of Christianity it was destined to be a world-governing influence, and there is nothing in history from that time to this that has not in some way been directed by its influence. Northern Europe and the British Isles, which were to furnish the people to possess and dominate the world, were filled with rude and almost uncivilized men, and it was the mission of Christianity to fit them for their great destiny.

When in the fifth century the Roman power seemed to expire in Europe, some thought that it meant the extinction of civilization and that the treasures of the Old World were destroyed. They thought men had to take a new start, had to lay anew the foundations for civilization; but this was not true, for the valuable accumulations of antiquity escaped harm and sooner or later became the possessions of ages to come. The catastrophe to the Roman Empire simply prepared for the shifting of the scene of civilization from the south to the north of Europe, and gave the intellectual prominence from one branch of the Aryan family to another. It was simply the smothered flame that was to burst forth anew, but it all had to be connected with Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church had her share in resisting Asiatic idolatry, and in her conflict with Mohammedanism she stood as a bulwark, receiving into her system, which became known as the Holy Roman Empire, much that she acquired from the old Roman Empire; and though she had but recently put before it the word "Holy," it was a mingling of some of the doctrines of Christianity with much of the teaching of the old empire. As has been said, "The fallen Dragon was set up again in his place." "The papacy," as Hobbs says, "was the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire crowned, and sitting upon the grave thereof." The Roman laws have had much tO' do in making up the laws of nations. Palgrave said, "No European lawyer has failed to profit by Rome's written wisdom."

One word in regard to the Teutons, who were influenced by the accumulation of wisdom gathered from these two nations — "contributed to these world treasures the very grand thing we call civilization." They were poor in what the Romans considered wealth, they had not literature or science; but they had what was better, a virtuous manhood, and on account of this personal worth they transmitted to their posterity the influence that built up great nations. They possessed what really is the foundation of all personal worth; they had manhood, capacity for civilization, love of personal freedom, independence, and reverence for womanhood. They had good ancestry, and they were not city-loving people. They loved the country. Tacitus says, "They dwelt scattered and separate, as a spring, a meadow or a grove may chance invite them." They reverenced their women, and Tacitus says of the Germans that they deemed womanhood to be sacred. These sentiments create the purity and the sanctity of the home, and no nation can long survive that does not have such sentiments. Whenever womanhood is degraded, and the marriage tie made of straw and divorces are easily obtained, that people is on the road to ruin.

While much can be said of the cruelty, oppression, and barbarities practiced by the Roman Church, without question Providence used it, as an organization, for political development; but the time has come in this civilization when that system is not needed.

Once more, while in many respects Mohammedanism has been a wonderful monstrosity, and the Arabs have been regarded by us as a wild, barbarous, and fanatical system, it has had its uses. Even the Saracen conquests brought home some blessings in their train. They spread the language of Arabia from the Euphrates valley to Northern Africa, and it became the preeminent speech and has remained such up to the present time, and their language and literature has done much for the learning, literature, and science of the world. In the dark ages, when literature and learning were scarcely known in Europe, the Moors held a large part of Spain nearly eight hundred years during which time they brought the country occupied by them to the highest state of cultivation and beauty. The kingdom of Granada, naturally fertile, came through their industry and their skill to be one of the best cultivated and richest districts in Spain. It had seventy walled towns besides the capital, Granada, a rich and prosperous city with a population of a quarter of a million, enriched with superb buildings of Moorish architecture. In the kingdom were schools and colleges and, as I remember, it was the only place in Europe at that time where arts, science, literature, and language were taught.

But to come back to Kentucky. Who were these early bordermen? There is nothing more evident than that North America was destined to become a great rallylng-ground for the best people, people who came out to possess and to cultivate the country, and to send out streams of light to the ends of the world, not only in business, but In teaching the nations of the earth what man may do In the manly work of carrying the light of Christianity. There came from Europe a class of people that had been in some measure like the Children of Israel in Egypt, slaves of oppression. They had come out to be free, but the first generations did not understand what the word meant. They seemed to think that freedom meant freedom to the ruling class but oppression to those who did not agree with them.

The hardy settlers of the seaboard had to live under hard conditions. Our old Pilgrim fathers and their descendants were a body of noble men, though they possessed then, as they do to-day, peculiar traits. But with some exceptions the hard conditions of their lives made them penurious and selfish, and they were satisfied for one hundred and fifty years to live along the seaboard, knowing little about the West and caring less, only so far as they could make money trading with the Indians. Even to the time of the Revolutionary war and after the ratification of the Constitution, some of them thought their States ought to secede If the great West was admitted Into the national family. And In the convention, when the Southerners, Thomas Jefferson at the head, were fighting to destroy slavery, they failed by the vote of one eastern "Nobody," as Roosevelt calls him.

Who would believe that so noble a character as Roger Williams, contending for soul-liberty, should be driven out of Massachusetts and made to go Into the wilderness with the Indians, who showed him more kindness than his own race?

Finally, the oppression of England began to awaken the minds of men, and a body of men were selected "for the very purpose of crossing the mountains and risking life and all in winning for the government the territory and lands," selected to seek out the Palestine of America. They wrought better than they knew. Little did those old pioneers that crossed the mountains know what their efforts and sacrifices would mean to this great country. They were gathered together for this very purpose; they were given the disposition and ability to accomplish these results. And my answer to the question as to who those early pioneers were, is, they were me7i and women selected by divine wisdom and goodness to open up and provide homes for us here to-day, who do not hold these pioneers as we should, in loving and sacred remembrance.

The history of all civilized nations shows that there has been a guiding hand in Providence that directs in the founding of these nations and in their development. And strange as it may seem, most of the development of nations has been through war. Though the wars that Napoleon waged seemed bloody and the result of a mad ambition, the result was the breaking up, in a large measure, of the Feudal system, the destroying of little principalities, so that nations might grow. The English-speaking people have been guided by the directing hand of the infinitely Wise One, and there has been no war that the American people have been engaged in that has not preceded advancement in both culture and civilization, though those who have engaged in them have suffered untold trials and privations. Daniel Boone said that he was the instrument ordained of God to settle in the wilderness. We might make it wider than this and say that God ordained the instrumentality for the settling and development of this great nation that is destined to bring civilization, liberty, and happiness to the nations of the earth. He seems to have reserved the land that this nation to-day holds for the development of a people who will be largely instrumental in carrying the gospel of peace and love to all the nations of the earth.