WATAUGA COUNTY, NC - HISTORY - A History of Watauga County, North Carolina Chapter 4, Part 2 ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Sharon Williamson ==================================================================== A History of Watauga County, North Carolina John Preston Arthur Chapter IV continued. Page 38 Boone Was a Hunter, Not a Farmer.--Boone came to Hollman's Ford about 1761. Bruce says he brought his wife back from Virginia at the conclusion of the Cherokee campaign--to use his exact words, "as soon as peace had been made sure"--which could not have been till after the tri-State campaign against the Cherokees of 1761 (p.43). Now, Holman's Ford is scarcely thirty miles from Cook's Gap on the Blue Ridge, and we are told that Boone's Cherokee campaign "had reawakened all his latent passion for adventure, and, although he brought his family back to the Yadkin as soon as peace had been made sure, he found it impossible to resume the humdrum life of a stay-at-home farmer. More than ever he relied on the products of the chase to supply him with a livelihood, and, since game had become scarce in the Yadkin Valley, he of necessity, as well as choice, embarked on long and perilous hunting trips" (p. 46), sometimes taking with him his oldest son, James, then a boy of eight, though more Page 39 frequently he journeyed in absolute solitude, pressing restlessly forward on the trail of the retreating beasts of prey. Always, he noted, this led him towards the west, and ere long there recurred to his mind the glowing tales he had heard from the trader Finley in the sad days of Braddock's campaign. It must be to Kentucky, the hunter's paradise, that the wild animals were fleeing. He had vowed to visit Kentucky. Now, if ever, while the Indians were at peace with the whites, was the time to fulfill that vow. But he soon discovered that it was no easy matter to reach Kentucky. In the autumn of 1767 he made his first start, accompanied by a friend named Hill, and, it is thought, by his brother, Squire Boone, named after their brave old father who had died two years before. The route followed was from the Yadkin to the valleys of the Holston and Clinch, and thence to the head waters of the wet fork of the Big Sandy. Boone's plan was to strike the Ohio and follow it to the falls of which Finley had told him. But they had only touched the edge of eastern Kentucky when they were snow-bound and compelled to go into camp for the winter. Attempting to renew their journey in the spring, they found the country so impenetrable that they returned to the Yadkin. (P;.47, 48.) Probability of the Re-location of the Trail.-- From the foregoing, taken from Boone's latest biography, it seems most probable that local tradition is correct, to the effect that Boone hunted all through the mountains of what is now Watauga County during several years preceding 1769, and knew the country thoroughly. In Foote's Notes we learn that what is now Watauga, with Alleghany County and that part of the territory still known as Ashe, was settled as early as 1755. Wheeler (p. 27, Vol. II) adopts this statement as true. Cook's Gap and Deep Gap Page 40 thence via Mountain City and down the Laurel fork of the Holston River. If the country was already settled when he passed through in May, 1769, the people who lived near his trail must have remembered it and told their children where it lay. There is great unanimity among their descendants that it followed the route chosen, except that some contend that it went through the Beaver Dams and across the Stair Gap(1) to Roan Creek in Tennessee. It may have done so, but the route over the mountains between Zionville, N. C., and Trade, Tenn., was much easier, as a buffalo trail led across it, and it was far more direct and practicable than that across Wark's Gap and the Stair Gap. When he got to Shoun's Cross Roads, he probably followed Laurel Creek, just as the little narrow gage railroad does, over the divide to the Laurel fork of the Holston. He knew this route, having followed it twice before, once in 1761 to the Wolf Hills, and again in 1767 to the west fork of the Big Sandy. But he did not go by Butler, Tenn., wherever else he may have gone, unless he deliberately went many miles out of his westward way. The Boone Tree Inscription,-- The inscription on what is called the Boone Tree, nine miles north of Jonesboro, Tenn., and near Boone Creek, grows more and more apocryphal with time. It never had any sponsor, at best, except the statement of Chancellor John Allison's letter in Rosevelt's "Winning of the West." The picture of it in Thwaits; "Daniel Boone," opposite page 56, shows that the letters were then legible, which could not have been the case if they had been put there in 1760. Bruce, in a foot-note on page 46, says that such a tree stood there until recently, but he gives facts which show it could not have been put there by Boone, for he shows, on page 39, that in April, 1759, the Cherokees forced an entrance into the fertile Yadkin and Catawbe valleys, destroyed crops, burned cabins, murdered settlers, and dragged their wives and children into a cruel captivity.(2) So sudden and severe was the blow that the stricken people had no opportunity to rally for an organized resistance, ___________ Note: (1) This is called Star Gap by some from particles of mica seen in the bottom of the spring at the base of the mountain, which shine "like stars." But others claim it is really the Stair gap, because a series of stair-like ledges of rock lead down from the gap on the western side. Bishop Asbury confirms this later view. (Asbury's Journal, Vol. II, p. 189. (2) The tree, a large leaning beech, was there in June, 1909, and is probably still flourishing, as is many another false witness. Page 41 much less undertake an offensive campaign. Abandoning their farms, they hastened for shelter to the strong stockade of Fort Dobbs, or to hurriedly constructed "homes of refuge," or else, if they cold possibly find the means to do so, fled with all their belongings to the settlement in the tidewater country. This was the course followed by the Boones, or, at least, by Squire Boone, his son Daniel and their respective families. Squire, it is said, went to Maryland. Daniel took Rebecca and their infant children to eastern Virginia, where he found employment at his old occupation of wagoner. Boone's First Trip Across the Mountains.-- Although Bruce, following the phantom of the Boone Tree legend, states that "as early ad 1760 (at the very time when he says elsewhere, page 41, that Boone was with Waddell at Fort Prince George or in Virginia) he (Boone) was threading his way through the Watauga wilds where the first settlement in Tennessee was afterwards established," he cites no supporting facts and is clearly contradicted by every known fact and circumstance of this period. But there is evidence that "in 1761, at the head of a hunting party which crossed the Alleghanies that year, came Daniel Boone from the Yadkin, in North Carolina, and traveled with them as low as the place where Abingdon now stands, and there left them." (Pp. 46, 47.) This visit to the site of the present Abingdon, Va., is still preserved there in a tradition which claims that wolves attacked Boone's party while in that vicinity, which fact gave rise to the first name of that locality, "The Wolf Hills." This trip of 1761 was probably Boone's first visit beyond the Blue Ridge. Bruce says (p. 47) that Boone was again in the Tennessee country three years later, or in 1764, and that in 1765 he went as far south as Florida, and would have settled there but for the influence of his wife, Rebecca Bryan, of the Yadkin Valley. If he had remained in Florida, Bruce adds "assuredly he would never have won fame as the great pilot of the early West." So that, after all, the world owes as much to Rebecca Bryan as to Boone himself! At Fort Prince George in 1760.-- Instead of being on Boone's Creek, carving his name and hunting experiences on trees in Page 42 1760, Daniel Boone was with Colonel Montgomery in June of that year, driving the Cherokees from the vicinity of Fort Prince George at the head of Savannah; while, between then and 1759, he had been in eastern Virginia or about Fort Dobbs, for Bruce tells us (p.40) that "so soon as he had satisfied himself that his little family would not be exposed to want [in eastern Virginia] he returned to the border, where he found thrilling events in progress. The Cherokees had laid desperate siege to Fort Dobbs, but had been gallantly beaten off by its garrison under command of Colonel Hugh Waddell, one of the foremost Indian fighters of his day. They had then renewed their depredations in small war-parties, ultimately gathering in force to attack Fort Prince George . . ." After driving the Cherokees away from that fort, Montgomery marched his force of 1,200 men, among whom was Daniel Boone, still under command of Waddell, across the mountains to the Little Tennessee, where they were ambushed and forced to retreat to Fort Prince George. From this place Montgomery marched his regulars back to Charleston S. C., where he embarked with them for New Your. "Once more the frontier of Georgia and the Carolinas lay at the mercy of the copper-colored foe (p.42)." The garrison at Fort Loudon on the Little Tennessee having surrendered, they were allowed to start back for Fort Prince George, but were attacked and many killed, the others being taken prisoners. This forced the three States of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina to agree on a joint invasion of the Cherokee country, and by June, 1761, which shows that he could not have "cilled a bar" on that or any other tree near there in 1760. It is, however, very discouraging to note the persistence of falsehoods, if only they bear a flavor of romance about them. Richard Henderson.--In a series of brilliant articles entitled, "Life and Times of Richard Henderson," which appeared in the Charlotte Observer in the spring of 1913, Dr. Archibald Henderson, then the president of the North Carolina Historical Commission, Page 43 makes the following claims for his ancestor: "Richard Henderson was recognized everywhere throughout the colony as a fair and just judge," but, notwithstanding that, the Regulators, who fought the battle of Alamance, unjustifiably prevented him from holding court at Hillsboro, visited their "cowardly incediary vengeance upon" him, and maliciously burnt his home and barn. Also, that but for his illness, Richard Henderson, who was a colonel as well as a judge, would have fought against these Regulators at the battle of Alamance.(1) That the reason Judge Henderson would not comply with the demands of the Regulators at Hillsborough in 1770 was because he would not "yield to the dictates of lawless and incensed anarchists." Also, that "the sentiment which animated the mob at Hillsboro was not one of animosity against Judge Henderson personally," their objection to him having been, seemingly, to the system and that he had been appointed by Governor Tryon and not by the king himself. This, however, was not the case with Judge Maurice Moore, who, according to Dr. Henderson, "was roundly denounced by the Regulators as 'rascal, rogue, villain, scoundrel; and other unprintable terms . . ." We are also told that "the demands made upon Judge Henderson by the treasonable mob at Hillsborough, had he attempted to accede to them, which is inconceivable, would have resulted in a travesty of justice." But, even before this, and notwithstanding the proclamation of King George in 1763, forbidding the purchase or lease of lands by individuals from the Indians, Judge Henderson was contemplating the purchase of the very lands the six nations of northern Indians had, by treaty at Fort Stanwix, in 1768, sold to Great Britain. Washington himself was engaged in a like scheme in Virginia, we are told, but Dr. Henderson says; "It is no reflection upon the fame of George Washington to point out that, of the two, the service to the nation of Richard Henderson in promoting western colonization was vastly more generous in its nature and far-reaching in its results than the more selfish and personal aims of Washington." ____________ Note: (1) The real leaders of the western expansion were James Robertson and the fourteen families from the present county of Wake, who, in 1770 or 1771, had been driven to seek new homes beyond the reach of the exactions of the British tax collectors. Page 44 In order to carry out this plan, Judge Henderson in 1769 employed Daniel Boone at Salisbury, while Henderson was actually presiding over the court, to explore these western lands, Boone being "very poor and his desire to pay off his indebtedness to Henderson made him all the more willing to undertake the exhaustive tour of exploration in company with Finley and others." The Patrick Henry of North Carolina.-- Dr. Henderson continues: "From this time forward [the expiration of is term as judge] Richardson Henderson, described as the 'Patrick Henry of North Carolina,' sheds the glamor of local fame and enters into national history as one of the most remarkable figures of his day, and indubitably the most remarkable constructive pioneer in the early history of the American people." Elsewhere Dr. Henderson speaks of his ancestor as the "Cecil Rhodes of America." Meantime, however, having returned from his two years;stay in Kentucky, we are told that Boone, grown impatient over the delay caused by Henderson's inability, for whatever reason, to further prosecute his plans at that time, recruited a body of settlers, and, on the 25th day of September, 1773, set out from Holman's Ford with eighteen men and some women and children, his own among the number, but his party was attacked by Indians and were forced to return. From which facts Dr. Henderson draws the following conclusions: "Boone lacked constructive leadership and executive genius.(1) He was a perfect instrument for executing the designs of others. It was not until the creative and executive brain of Richard Henderson was applied to the vast and daring project of western colonization that it was carried through to a successful termination." The English Spy.-- From Judge Clark's article (N. C. Booklet, January, 1904) it appears that Richard Henderon's mother was a Miss Williams, and that he studied law under his cousin, John Williams, who, according to Wheeler (Vol. I, p. 58), was whipped by the Regulators, and was, presumably, the son of his mother's brother, and afterwards married his step-daughter, ____________ Note: (1) Richard Henderson's "constructive" genius seems to have resulted in the destruction both of himself and all who put their trust in him especially Daniel Boone, whom Henderson left penniless in the wilderness of Kentucky. Elizabeth Keeling. Also, that "the British spy, Captain J. F. D. Smyth, in his 'Tour of America' (Vol. I, p. 124), [states that he] visited John Williams at his home in Granville about December, 1774, where he met Judge Henderson, whom he lauds as a genius, and says he did not know how to read and write till after he was grown. As Henderson became judge at the age of thirty-three, and as, besides, Smyth styles him Nathaniel Henderson and adds that Williams was said to be a mulatto and looked like one, no faith is to be given to any of his statements. He, however, says, probably with truth (p. 126), that Judge Henderson had made a secret purchase of territory from the Indians before his public treaty later on." This Captain Smyth might, therefore, be dismissed without notice if we did not find in Roosevelt (Vol. II, p. 46) that, while Henderson was at Boonesborough in 1775, "a British friend of his" (whom a foot-note shows to have been Smyth) visited him there, indicating his knowledge of Henderson's enterprise, and the further fact that Dr. Henderson himself, in his Observer articles of 1913, says: "It is interesting to note that just prior to the public announcement throughout the colony of this vast scheme of promotion[selling the Transylvania lands to unsuspecting frontiersmen], Dr. J. F. D. Smyth, the British emissary, met Richard Henderson at the home of Col. John Williams." But for the facts stated in Dr. Henderson's next succeeding article in the Observer on Richard Henderson, one might be tempted to connect this visit with the secret purchase of these lands above referred to, and to guess that it may have been a part of the policy of Great Britain at that time to get Americans interested in these Transylvania lands by low prices, etc., to such an extent that they would, rather than lose their holdings in them, adhere to the mother country in the impending struggle for independence, and thus form a rear-rank which should co-operate with the front rank of soldiers and loyalists in the Atlantic States. It would have been a most powerful and, possibly, successful bar to the achievement of our independence; for, then, Sevier and his Watauga men would have fought against and not for us. But this, probably, was not the scheme that British emissary or scout, as Dr. Henderson also Page 46 terms him, had in mind, for Dr. Henderson continues; "Though not the first settlement in point of time, for Henderson found several temporarily occupied camps nearby on his arrival, Boonesborough was the first settlement of permanent vitality in the heart of the Kentucky country. No Henderson and there would have been no Boonesborough. No Boonesborough and the American colonies, now convulsed in a titanic struggle, might well have lost to Great Britain, at the close of the Revolution, the vast and fertile possessions of the transmontane wilderness." Was Even the Treaty a Sham?-- Assuming that Dr. Smyth, Richard Henderson's friend and guest, spoke ex cathedra when he declared that a secret treaty had been already affected before the 25th of March, 1775, which is the one that was published to the world as the real thing, what shall be thought of the following from Judge Clark's "Colony of Transylvania," before quoted? "The treaty was debated, sentence by sentence, the Indians choosing their own interpreter. It was only signed after four days; minute discussion and after fierce opposition from a chief known as Dragging Canoe. The goods must have been put at a high valuation, for one brave, who received as his share only a shirt, contemptuously said he could secure more with his rifle in one day's hunting. On the other hand, the Indians received full value, for they had in truth no title to convey, and they plainly told Henderson he would have great trouble to obtain or hold possession on account of other tribes. The territory was not occupied and owned by the Cherokees, nor, indeed, by any tribe, but was a battle-field, where hostile bands met to fight out their quarrels." No wonder then that Dr. Henderson says that these fifty thousand dollars worth of goods were transported across the mountains of North Carolina in six wagons two years before, as other historians agree, any road was opened across them! The Romantic Side of Boone.--Most of us love to think of him in the light of Kipling's "Explorer," animated by the "something-hidden-go-and-find-it" spirit, rather than as the servant of any man or set of men on his 1769 trip to Kentucky; and while it Page 47 is no reflection on his character if he was actually employed to spy out the western lands, is it not a reflection upon Richard Henderson to say at this late day that he was actually scheming while a judge on the bench to violate the law?(1) As well as can be gathered from the Charlotte Observer's articles (Life and Times of Richard Henderson), it appears that when in 1773 Henderson's term as judge expired by limitation of the judiciary act of 1767, he learned "through the highest English legal authorities . . . according to the most recent legal decision rendered in England on the subject, purchases by individuals from Indian owners were legally valid. Without royal grant, Patrick Henry in Virginia, in 1774, was negotiating for the purchase of part of the very territory Henderson desired. Two years earlier the Watauga settlers leased from the Cherokees the lands upon which they resided--a preliminary to subsequent purchase . . . The opinion handed down by the Lord Chancellor and the attorney general cleared away the legal difficulties."(2) This, apparently, was Henderson's justification for proceeding to violate the Royal Proclamation against purchasing lands from the Indians. His plea that the Cherokees really owned the land seems to be based on the sole claim that "their title to the territory had been acknowledged by Great Britain through her Southern agent of Indian affairs, John Stuart, at the Treaty of Lochaben in 1770." Dr. Henderson told H. Addington Bruce that Judge Henderson, "in developing his Transylvania project and purchasing Kentucky from the Cherokees, acted under the advice of an eminent English jurist, 'in the closest confidence of the King.; and that he, therefore, regarded the enterprise as having the royal sanction," which view of the case Mr. Bruce understood Professor Henderson would soon set forth in a biography of Richard Henderson. That promise was evidently made during or prior to 1910, when Bruce's "Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road" was first published. The proof is still not forthcoming because Dr. Henderson's book is not yet printed. When it is published to the world it will undoubtedly surprise many historians and others who consider themselves well informed about the history of these times and events. It is a great pity that it could not have been presented to the world a hundred years ago, before such erroneous ideas of Richard Henderson became prevalent. It is also hoped that it will then be shown that Richard Henderson and his associates devoted the 400,000 acres of land which they obtained from Virginia and North Carolina to the making whole of all those who bought land from them, including the 2,000 acres which Boone received as compensation for his services, but to which he got no valid title. What Virginia did for Boone is not pertinent. What did Richard Henderson do? When these matters shall have been cleared up, North Carolina, no doubt, will be proud to erect a monument to his memory. ____________ Note (1) There can be no doubt that Doctor Henderson claims that it was Judge Henderson's purpose to carry out this plan at the time he is said to have employed Boone in 1769: for he says Judge Henderson saw the significance of the Fort Stanwix treaty, and realized that the lands could be acquired only from the Indians, and that his plan was temporarily "frustrated by the exciting issues of the Regulation." (2) How Richard Henderson, then a private citizen, could have had knowledge of these facts when the Governors of Virginia and North Carolina, the accredited representatives of Great Britain, were ignorant of them, is not explained. They were ignorant, for both denounced Henderson and his associates as land pirates, engaged in an unlawful undertaking. (Chapter 4 Continued)