CHAPTER X. WASHINGTON COUNTY. 97. North Carolina Asserts Jurisdiction.-In November, 1777, the General Assembly of North Carolina asserted jurisdiction over her western territory by forming Washington District into Washington County, with boundaries co-extensive with the present State of Tennessee. The new county was made a part of Salisbury Judicial District. Courts of justice were established. Civil and military officers were appointed, land offices were opened, and the county organization was completed. 98. Military Preparations.-The militia was organized for defense against the Indians, and John Carter was appointed Colonel of Washington County. Companies of rangers were sent out to protect the country against the incursions of the Indians. This wise precaution brought security to the settlers against petty marauding parties of Indians. Bodies of "Tories" who had been driven from the more thickly settled portions of North Carolina committed depredations. upon the settlements. These were restrained by the military authorities, and by Vigilance Committees, and brought before the courts and tried for "toryism." 1 99. Influx of Population.-The State granted land to the settlers on very favorable terms, as will appear in the following quotation from the History of Tennessee by John Haywood, the father of Tennessee history: "at the rate of forty shillings per hundred acres; each head of a family was permitted to take up six hundred and forty acres for himself, and one hundred acres for his wife and each of his children. The law was so worded as not to oblige the Watauga people to enter and pay for their occupancies until January, 1779; and then for any surplus entered above the quantity before mentioned, the purchaser was required to pay five pounds per hundred. Great numbers of persons came to Holston from the eastern parts of North Carolina to enter land."2 100. The Immigrants. The above quotation from Haywood shows the cheapness of the lands, and how the title to them was obtained. The following quotation from Ramsey shows the character 1 Ramsey, pp. 177, 181. 2 See Haywood's Civil and Political History of Tennessee, chap. 2, pp. 69, 70. of the pioneers: "The facility of taking up the choice lands of the country induced great numbers of persons, principally those without means, to emigrate to the frontier. A poor man, with seldom more than a single pack-horse on which the wife and infant were carried, with a few clothes and bed quilts, a skillet and a small sack of meal, was often seen wending his way along the narrow mountain trace, with a rifle upon his shoulder, the elder sons carrying an axe, a hoe, sometimes an auger and a saw, the elder daughters leading or carrying the smaller children. Without a dollar in his pocket when he arrived at the distant frontier, the emigrant became at once a large land-holder. Such men laid the foundation of society and government in Tennessee. They brought no wealth with them, but, what was far better, they had hardihood and enterprise, and fearlessness and self-reliance. With such elements in the character of its pioneers, any community will soon subdue the wilderness to the purposes of agriculture."'1 101. Development.-The early pioneers had traveled on horseback and on foot. The scanty articles of comfort, and the few working tools which they imported, were carried on their persons, or on pack-horses. They followed trails which had been "blazed" by hunters or previous travelers. No road for vehicles had been opened, and there were no adequate means of transportation. As soon as they were well settled in their new homes, they began to turn their thoughts to the improvement of their condition. They felt the need of some means of transportation to connect them with the outside world. The first effort at internal improvement was the appointment of commissioners by the Legislature to lay off a road from the Court House of Washington County extending into Burke County. Says the historian: "After that road was opened, emigrants of larger property began to reach the country, and the settlements assumed the appearance of greater thrift and comfort.” 2 102. 1779.—The year 1779 was pregnant with events of importance to the pioneers of Washington County. The Indian chief, Dragging Canoe, who had refused to take part in the Treaty of Holston, established a force of banditti, 1,000 strong, with headquarters at Nickajack Cave, and began a series of depredations. The expedition of Evan Shelby was made to destroy this rendezvous. Sullivan County was formed. The Cherokees became hostile. Campbell, Sevier, and Shelby invaded their territory. 1 See Ramsey's Annals, pp. 175, 176. The capture of Savannah, in 1778, followed by the defeat of General Ashe in 1779, opened communications with the Indians, and renewed their hostilities. James Robertson, with a party of pioneers from the Watauga, began the permanent settlement of Middle Tennessee at French Lick on the Cumberland, now Nashville; John Donelson began his famous voyage on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers; Jonesboro, the first incorporated town in Tennessee, was laid off, and established as the county-seat of Washington County, the courts having been previously held at the house of Charles Roberson; and the Commissioners of Virginia and North Carolina began the location of the boundary line. 103. The Expedition of Evan Shelby. This expedition was undertaken under the authority of Virginia and North Carolina, and consisted of one hundred and fifty men under Col. Montgomery, with three hundred and fifty men under Col. Evan Shelby, the whole expedition being under the command of Col. Shelby. This movement had been rendered necessary by the depredations of the lawless bands of Indians associated with a few white renegades, who had settled along the banks of the Tennessee River, and had formed an association of pirates or banditti for the purpose of robbing boats which were beginning to navigate the river, and the further purpose of invading the white settlements. The villages which they inhabited were known as the Five Lower Towns-Running Water, Nickajack, Long Island, Cow Town, and Look Out. Their famous stronghold was Nickajack Cave. Col. Hamilton, the British Governor at Detroit, had, through his agents, accumulated a store of goods valued at $20,000, which had been placed in the vicinity of these towns to be distributed to the neighboring Indians, who had been called to attend a council, at which it was proposed to enlist them to invade and destroy the Tennessee settlements. Col. Shelby foiled the purpose of the British by capturing their stores, burning eleven Indian villages, destroying the crops of the Indians, and prostrating their resources. 1 104. A Dangerous Crisis.-The Revolutionary War had now assumed a phase which threatened danger to the Tennessee settlers. The British commanders had decided to invade the country from the south. Savannah had fallen, and the siege of Charleston was contemplated. The Indians had become the allies of the British. The 1Read full account in Haywood, Ramsey, and other historians. Evan Shelby was the father of Isaac Shelby, who was the first governor of Kentucky. feeble western settlement could hardly cope with their Indian enemies. What must be the result when these savages were reinforced with strong bodies of British troops? The sequel will be told in future chapters. In the meantime, the fearless settlers pursued their plans. They calmly continued the location of the boundary line, and the extension of their settlements on the Cumberland. At the same time that they maintained their ground as the "RearGuard of the Revolution," they threw forward into the wilderness the "Advance-Guard of Western Civilization."'1 CHAPTER XI. THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT. 105. Early Visitors.-On March 17, 1775, the Cherokees ceded to Henderson & Co. the land known as the Transylvania Purchase, which extended between the Kentucky and Cumberland rivers.2 neers. This treaty was not recognized as valid, either by the British government or by the States of Virginia and North Carolina. Nevertheless, the Henderson Company sent pioneers to occupy the country which they claimed. Daniel Boone and others were among the pioAs early as 1768 Isaac Lindsay, Uriah Stone, and others visited the Cumberland River, and gave the name of one their party to Stone's River. 3 In 1769 John Rains, Kaspar Mansker, Abraham Bledsoe, John Baker, Joseph Drake, Obediah Terril, Uriah Stone, Henry Smith, Ned Cowan, and others, made extensive explorations, and, among other places, they visited the Cumberland country. Members of this party made subsequent visits to the country. Their names are retained in "Drake's Pond," Drake's Lick,' "Bledsoe's Lick," "Mansco's Lick," "Stone's River," etc. were other visitors at times previous to the permanent settlement. There 106. Thomas Sharp Spencer.-Among the most noted of these early pioneers was Thomas Sharp Spencer. He came in 1776, and 'The pupil should read in this connection two interesting books by J. R. Gilmore-"The Rear-Guard of the Revolution," and the "Advance-Guard of Western Civilization." These works present a vivid picture, but should be read with caution, as they are not reliable in matters of fact. 2 Haywood; Ramsey's Annals, p. 191, and especially Putnam's History of Middle Tennessee, pp. 62, 63; also Report of Bureau of Ethnology, 1883-1884, pp. 148, 149. 3 Compare 263. remained until the arrival of the permanent settlers in 1779. Many anecdotes are related of him which border on the marvelous. He was said to have been a man of gigantic size and strength. He had an immense foot. It is related that a hunter, chancing to see Spencer's footprint in the mud, fled in terror. He remained in the Cumberland country at one time with only one companion. It is said of him: "When this last comrade concluded to return home, Spencer decided to remain. He accompanied his comrade for a short distance, and in parting, divided with him his scanty store, and broke in half the SPENCER'S TREE. only knife in the Cumberland country, giving the comrade one part and himself retaining the other. He then returned to his campingground, and lived in a large hollow sycamore tree." "Spencer's Choice," in Sumner County, still bears his name. By a singular mistake of the "father of Tennessee history," some confusion has arisen in regard to Spencer's name. Judge Haywood unfortunately inserted a comma at the wrong place, and wrote: "Thomas Sharp, Spencer, and others." This seemed to indicate two men, Thomas Sharp, and another named Spencer. Later historians copied the mistake. Mr. John Carr, author of "Early Times in Middle Tennessee," being himself a pioneer, was personally acquainted with Spencer. He relates many stories about him, and gives his name correctly.1 107. Other Noted Pioneers.-John Holliday was Spencer's friend and companion. Captain Demonbreun, a Frenchman, hunted in this 1 See Ramsey, p. 192; IIaywood, pp. 81, 82; Putnam; Carr; American Historical Magazine, Vol. I, pp. 199-201. |