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A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH
ISSUED AS A SOUVENIR

S}) COLEMAN RANDOLPH

MORRISTOWN

NEW JERSEY

1921

Copyriehted 1921
By COLEMAN RANDOLPH
Morristown. New Jersey

Printed by the
MORRIS COUNTY PRESS
Morristown, New Jersey

g)ClA6240l9

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1

preface

3N writing this little sketch which is in-
tended to serve as a souvenir of an old
historic land mark, it is found neces-
sary to review certain events of that
epoch. The "Old House on the Hill" possesses
more than a mere personal interest due to its
age and the primitive conditions which existed
at the time of its foundation. For this reason
it is deemed appropriate to take a birdseye sur-

vey of the stirring incidents of that period. A
casual examination will suffice to show that the
life of the Old House was interwoven with some
of the most thrilling and important events of
American History; that it was in fact an out-
post, a point of observation during a critical
period when premature disorganization and dis-
ruption of the national government was
threatened.

Sntrobuction

/ ^ I HIS is not an age in which one can
M I safely trust to tradition to preserve

^^^' the records of the past. A few words
to explain the purpose of the illus-
trations contained in this publication, therefore,
may not be amiss. The "House on the Hill" or
"Federal Hill" as it was formerly called, was in
the early days of our Country, one of the bul-
warks which marked the frontier of the United
States west of the Alleghanies. The house is
built of brick manufactured in the neighborhood.
It was a substantial structure and made to with-
stand a siege.

A brief description of the conditions that
existed in the United States at the time the house
was built will give a better idea of the part it
played in the National Life.

The Old House served as a headquarters for
loyal patriots to assemble as well as a frontier
post. At the time it was built danger lurked in
the foreign intrigues which threatened the free
navigation of the Mississippi and also the peace-
ful possession of our western domains from the
Ohio River to the Lakes. Internal disaffection
moreover required attention. Lawless characters
chafed at the supineness of the new Federal Gov-
ernment in guarding their rights against foreign
agression, while with-holding from the Govern-
ment the support necessary to give it proper
vigor to assert itself. The social agitator was
ever ready to work upon this seething element
of discontent. These observations serve to re-
call to mind the chaotic mass out of which our
Government was composed, while taking shape
under the master hands of Empire Builders.

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/ -^ HE Village of Washington, K\'., calmly
4 I reposes among the hills of northern

^^^^ Kentucky several miles from the
Ohio River in what is known as the
"Blue Grass" region. A stranger traveling
through the country would hardly be tempted to
delay his journey to make extended inquiry
about the town, which, at first acquaintance,
would strike one as modest and commonplace.
In the midst of the village, located upon a small
elevation which overlooks the immediate neigh-
borhood, is an old brick house which has the
appearance, in spite of its dilapidation and age,
of having seen better days. A long sweep of lawn
extending a considerable distance in several
directions seems to forbid the encroachments of
the squalid hovels and modern dwellings that
have sprung up in later years. Formerly a hand-
some grove of locust trees adorned the slopes
that nature graded up to the Old Mansion, but
they have yielded to the decaying process of
time which leaves them only a memory of the
past .

Not far from the Old House, about a stone's
throw, is a little cemetery where repose some

generations of those who first established the
Old House and the estate which formerly sur-
rounded it.

It is hardly necessary to say that the "Old
House on the Hill," by which name the mansion
is familiarly known, has a history, (a) The most
interesting part of that history cannot be told
because those who knew it in its best days are
taking the "sleep that knows no waking."

The stranger wandering about the village
should be on his guard against some unpleasant
reminder of pioneer days. When the country was
being settled, occasionally the prudent back-
woodsman dug a well inside of his cabin to pro-
vide against a cruel want in case he should be
besieged and forced to defend himself. There
was no means of forecasting when the savage,
brooding over his wrongs, might "dig up the
hatchet" and painting himself in hideous colors
indicative of his purpose, make an attack upon
the unsuspecting settler. After the dangers of
Indian warfare disappeared and the old cabins
were abandoned, the wells still remained and
were sometimes discovered in the streets merely
covered with boards.

QlDl0iti4(Ei)omaj3 iEarsi^aU

JN the year 1783 Col. Thomas Marshal!
received from the State of Virginia the
title of Surveyor of Kentucky County.
This County originally comprised a
very large section of the country. It was soon
after divided into other counties. The name
was finally given to the state when it was created.
Col. Thomas Marshall and that part of his
family which located in Kentucky acquired con-
siderable real estate even for that era. The to-
tal amount acquired was about 500,000 acres.
Soon after his appointment, Col Marshall organ-
ized a small party and shouldering his rifle left

the more settled regions east of the Alleghanies
to take possession of his new estate.

Starting out on its career the Government
at Washington, D. C, found it sufficiently diffi-
cult to stand on its feet without trying to enforce
writs of ejectment against the "Red Skins" of
the wilderness. The savages thought they had
a proscriptive right against all comers. If a
cloud rested upon the title, which, according to
their way of thinking meant possession and a

(a) It was sometimes called "Federal Hill" on ac-
count of the political proclivities of Captain
Marshall. "The Marshall Family," by Wm. M.
Paxton. p. 49.

hand strong enough to retain it, it was due to
the fact that most of the region now known as
the state of Kentucky was formerly a debatable
hunting ground where the Northern and South-
ern Indians often met in pursuing their pastime
of the chase, (a) This diversion was sometimes
varied by strife among themselves. In keeping
with this tradition was the name of the state.
This was of Indian origin and was first given
to a river known as "Kentucke," which signifies
bloody water, and is rather suggestive of its
savage christening.

There has been some dispute respecting the
reason which influenced Col. Marshall and his
sons to penetrate the wilderness and locate in
Kentucky. The spirit of adventure which ani-
mated many in those days might be assigned as
the impelling motive; a desire to settle in a
region which was destined to become of great
importance and where land could be obtained
for practically nothing. It has also been stated
that policy and patriotic motives dictated their
actions. It seemed that a vigilant eye was re-
quired on the frontier to observe the course of
events and a masterful mind to inspire a senti-
ment of loyalty.

The following correspondence between Col.
Thomas Marshall and Washington throws con-
siderable light on this subject.

On February 12, 1789, Col. Marshall wrote
a letter to Washington in which he speaks of an
interview between General Wilkinson and the
Spanish Government at New Orleans, afterwards
published by General Wilkinson. The Governor
requested General Wilkinson to write him a
letter "respecting the political interests of Spain
and the Americans * * * inhabiting the western
waters. This he did in an essay, as he calls it.
Col. Marshall continues as follows: "I saw the
Governor's letter to him acknowledging receipt
of it, and informing him he would lay it before
the King of Spain; a copy of this essay he pro-
duced and read in our late convention for the
district; as well as my memory (which is not
very accurate) serves me, the substance of it is
as follows: "He urges our natural right of fol-
lowing the current of rivers flowing through the

country into the sea. He states the e.xcent of our
country etc., * * * proper for foreign markets,
to which we have no means of conveying them,
should the Mississippi be closed against us. He
states the advantages Spain might derive from
allowing us the free use of the river. He states
the general abhorrence with which the people
of the western waters received the intelligence
that Congress was about to sacrifice their dear-
est interest by ceding to Spain the navigation of
the Mississippi for twenty or thirty years and re-
presents it as a fact that they were on the point
of separating themselves from the Union on that
account."

"He addresses himself to their fears by a
pompous display of forces, etc. * * * "Great
Britain stands with her arms expanded ready to
receive us" and assist our efforts for the accom-
plishment of this object, etc."

"This essay was, I am told, laid before the
Court of Madrid; and as a violent separation
from the United States seems to be laid down
as the ground work upon which every other con-
sequence depends, I think it probably has pro-
duced instructions from the court to the repre-
sentative at Congress that if the westward
country should declare itself separate from the
Union, to avail himself of the event etc." (But-
ler's History of Kentucky, p. 519).

The following passage occurs in a letter
written in reply to Col. Marshall, March 27,
1789 by Washington:

"It is true I had previously received some
verbal and written information on the subject of
a similar tenor, but none which placed the affairs
in such an alarming point of view as that in
which I now behold."

To explain the situation more fully it is nec-
essary to recall the conditions e.xisting in the
United States when the National Government
was being formed and the parts of its great

(a) Speaking" of Kentucky occurs the following
passage in Collins' History of Kentucky: "The
dark forests and cane thickets separated the
Cherokees, Creeks and Catawbas of the South
from the Shawnees, Delawares and W^yandots
of the North. (Collins' History, Vol. 1. p. 247)

COLONEL THOMAS MARSHALL

MARY RANDOLPH KIETH MARSHALL
WIFE OP COLONEL THOMAS MARSHALL

widespread domain representing so many and
diverse political units were being knit together.
The wild and inhospitable character of that re-

gion must be understood to form a correct im-
pression of the hardships and difficulties that
had to be borne, (a)

^tmmi (iliarartrr of ll^r Cnmttri| at (El^at jpprtn^

A

SHORT recital of some of the inci-
dents of this period will give a better
idea of the actual state of things in
that part of the Country.

In the year 1775 occurred the Braddock
Massacre near Fort Duquesne, not far from the
present city of Pittsburg, but far to the eastward
of the town of Washington, Ky. The battle of
the "Blue Licks" a few miles east of Washington
was fought in 1732, where the whites lost sixty
men, about one-tenth of the fighting population
of the State. (6) It is said that in 1768 an ex-
plorer by the name of John Finley did not find
one white man's cabin in all of Kentucky. Even
as late as 1810, Wilson, a naturalist, speaking of
Lexington, Ky., writes: "Within the memory of
a middle-aged man who gave me the information
there were only two log huts on the spot where
the city is now erected, while the surrounding
country was a wilderness rendered hideous by
skulking bands of bloody and ferocious Indians."
(c)

In fact, it was even thought expedient in
certain quarters to delay the development of
that region. It was the policy of Lord Hills-
borough to prevent colonization and hold the
country through the friendship of the Natives.

(d) Washington, actuated by a more progress-
ive spirit, had ideas of colonizing this section.

(e) In 1784, he made a tour through the re-
gion west of the Alleghanies. (/)

No less important, it is necessary to appre-
ciate the character of the former occupants of
the Old House and the part they played in the
early history of the country, as well as the spirit
which animated them in their devotion to the
new Government and its ideals.

At the end of the Revolutionary War when
the welcome news was spread abroad that the
struggle with the Mother Country had ended in

the emancipation of the Colonies from her do-
minion, the joyful tidings were soon marred by
the realization of the formidable obstacles yet
to be overcome. Each colony had a tradition
and a history of its own; an individuality, so
to speak, which it had no intention of yielding.
To understand their feelings it would be neces-
sary to go back to the first settlers who estab-
lished them and follow their history through
their rivalries and political conflicts to the time
when it was plainly evident that a new combi-
nation was necessary for mutual protection to
take the place of the royal Government from
which they had separated. Social equality had
already begun to manifest itself but had not
been clearly defined in a political sense; religious
tolerance, or perhaps indifference, characterized
the sentiment of the day and religious differences
had not for a considerable period disturbed the
peace of the Colonies, in either a political or
personal sense; in fact, there had succeeded the
religious discord of an earlier period in certain
quarters, a tendency to free thinking and agnos-
ticism; a disposition to question all authority,
whether religious or political. The Mother
Country frequently left the Colonists to shift
for themselves which developed a spirit of inde-
pendence to which the frontiersman had already
become accustomed.

(a) Kentucky Tvas regarded as a hunting ground
by tacit agreement and "reserved from perma-
nent occupation." (Butler's History of Ken-
tucl-;y. introduction, p. XIII.)

"As late as the peace of Aix La Chapelle in
17S4, the Western country of the British Col-
onies was in the possession of the native
tribes, undisturbed by the white man." (But-
ler's History of Kentucky, introduction, p.
XIII.)

"The exploration of Boone in 1769 and Knox in
1770 were the only ones considered worthy of
notice." (Collins' History of Kentucky, Vol. 1,
p. 24S.)

(b) International Enclyclopedia, Vol. 1.3, p. 1S2.

(c) Wilson, Vol. 1, p. LXXXIIII.

(d) Bancroft, Vol. 6, p. 222.

(e) Bancroft, Vol. 6, p. 380.

(f) Spark's Washington, Vol. 1, p. 408.

It is readily seen that a disposition had de-
veloped in the Colonies which invited trouble
the moment a narrow-minded despot sought to
hold the reins of control over the colonies with
too tight a hand. This state of mind, after the
successful revolt of the Colonies, intensified by
the ordeal of war, threatened to render abortive
all attempts to form a National Government and
to wreck it after it was formed.

A better idea might be formed of the un-
settled state of affairs when it is recalled that as
late as 1804 the Burr expedition was organized
in this locality giving some anxiety to the au-
thorities. It is doubtful if it ever will be known
what was the real object of the venture, but the
loose ties of allegiance which held the early
settlers to the Federal Government gave occasion
in certain quarters to a great deal of uneasiness.
The general opinion entertained of the organizer
of the expidition by no mctms helped to allav a
feeling of uneasiness. It is significant of the pre-
carious character of the period that Aaron Burr,
who organzied this expedition missed securing
the office of President of the United States by
a narrow margin.

In this connection it seemed appropriate to
review the dangers that were menacing the newh'
formed Government of the United States.

There was solicitude concerning suspected
British intrigues to alienate from their allegiance
the people of Kentucky, who were apprehensive
about the free navigation of the Mississippi
River. "Affairs in the western country wore an
unfavorable aspect. The people of Kentucky
were looking with a great deal of solicitude to
the result of the pending negotiation respecting
the navigation of the Mississippi and it would
seem that the British at the North thought that
this was a good opportunity to tempt them with
secret propositions and to try the strength of
their fidelity; and the Spaniards of the South
were equally ready to scatter the seed of dis-
affection and to encourage in the inhabitants of
the West a separation from the Federal Govern-
ment."

The following observations of Washington

indicated the feeling of apprehension that posses-
sed him respecting the future of the Western
Country. "There is nothing which binds one
country or one state to another but interest.
Without this cement the Western inhabitants,
who more than probably will be composed in a
great degree of foreigners, can have no predi-
lection for us, and a commercial connection is
the only tie we can have upon them." (a)

The possibility of a new political division
being created that might prove a thorn in the
side of the American Government is here clearly
set forth. New arrivals from Europe could have
no tradition in common with the earlier settlers,
and in many cases not even racial ties; but the
attachment to the principle of a free Government
was not at that time sufficiently realized. The
forecast was more gloomy than the facts war-
ranted. The principle of the free representative
Government was a leaven that had already be-
gun to work and in time was destined to make
its influence felt among peoples and nations
where the idea at that time Vvas hardly known.

While powerful European Governments were
playing a game of political intrigue, in which at
a later period the infant Hercules of the West
took a hand, the vast undeveloped territories
of the New World being the stakes, an incident
occurred, quite as amusing as it was pathetic,
which recalled to mind the aborigine despoiled
of his birth-right. An e.xplorer by the name of
Gist went over the Alleghanies in 1751 on a
tour of discovery for the Ohio Company. He
met an Indian who said that their great men.
The Beaver, and Captain Appamaquish (two
chiefs of the Delawares) desired to know where
the Indian land lay, for the French claimed all
on one side of the Ohio and the English on the
other. The savage was considered quite as ser-

(a) "Stated on good authority that it Kentuclcy
would form an independent commonwealth, it
n^ight have special privileges from Spain on the
Mississippi River." (Collins History of Ken-
tucky, p. 37.)

Col. Marshall was decided and uncompromis-
ing in his opposition to separation. (Collins'
History of Kentucky, Vol. 1., p. 269.
Spark's "Washington, Vol. 9, p. 473. See also
letter to H. Innes.

See also letter to R. H. Lee relative to com-
merce on the Mississippi. (Spark's Washington,.
Vol. 9, p. 119.)

1>

AARON BURR

iously as some wild beast, disturbed in its lair,
(a) The native had an undefined idea of his
rights without any conception of legal principles
which could reduce them to a certainty and pro-
vide a remedy for their violation. To continue
his mode of life would necessarily condemn vast
areas to the condition of a primeval wilderness
so that he might enjoy the pastime of the chase.
It would require a despotic authority like that
of William the Conquerer, sustained by the
power of a feudal state, to perpetuate this state
of things against the wishes of a civilized com-
munity. ( b )

If further evidence is essential to prove the
critical conditions that existed in this region, it
is sufficient again to refer to Washington's own
statement: "The Western States (I speak
from my own observations) stand as it were
upon a pivot. The touch of a feather would
turn them any way. They have looked down
upon the Mississippi until the Spaniards, very
imprudently, I think, for themselves, threw diffi-
culties in their way." etc. (c)

(a) Neither the French nor the British seemed to
regard tlie paramount rights of tlie aborigine
any further than military policy might dictate.
(Butler's History of Kentucky, intrc. p. XIX.)

(h) Thierry's Xorman Conquest, Vol. 1, p. 307.

(c) Spark's Washington, Vol. 9, p. 63.

(d) This was 1TS5. Collin's History of Kentucky,
Vol. 2, p. 562.

(e) The story would not be complete without giv-
ing some idea of the kind of neighbors the
frontiersmen had to deal with. The following
account given by Dr. Knight of the execution
of Colonel Crawford, who, with himself was
captured by the Indians, will serve as an illus-
tration. "When w-e were come to the fire, the
Colonel was stripped naked, ordered to sit
down by the fire, and they beat him with sticks
and their fists. * * * They then tied ropes to
the top of a post about fifteen feet high, bound
the Colonel's hands behind his back and
fastened the rope to the ligature between his
wrists. The rope was long enough for him
to sit down or walk around the post once or
twice and return the same way. The Colonel
then called to Girty and asked if they intended
to burn him. Girty answered "Yes." The Col-
onel said he would take it all patiently. Upon
this. Captain Pipe, a Delaware Chief, made a
speech to the Indians. • * 'When the speech
was finished they all yelled a hideous, and
hearty assent to what had been said. The
Indians then took up their guns and shot
powder into the Colonel's body, from his feet
as far up as his neck, • • * They then crowded
about him and to the best of my observation,
cut off his ears, &c. The fire was about six
or seven yards froni the post to which the Col-
onel was tied; it was made of small hickory
poles, burnt quite thru in the middle, each end
of the poles remaining about six feet in length.
Three or four Indians by turns would take up

It is not difficult to understand why rivers
and navigable waters were the favorite means of
traveling in the old pioneer days; the scarcity
of roads of any kind, the dangers and privations
of the wilderness were serious obstacles. During
this period flat-bottom boats were employed on
the Ohio River to carry passengers and freight.
Wheeling, West Virginia, was often chosen as a
point of embarkation. Precaution had to be
taken to guard against shots fired by an enemy
from the river banks. For this purpose the
sides were constructed sufficiently high and
solid to serve as a protection against injury.

Capt. Thomas Marshall made use of this
means of transportation going West. Before
taking his departure, he was warned by a brother
of Simon Girty, the notorious out-law and rene-
gade, against a stratagem the Indians were likely
to make use of. (d) White captives v/ere some-
times sent to the river banks to implore help.
If the unsuspecting crew drew sufficiently near
the shore where the savages were lying in am-
bush, they were in danger of a murderous
attack, (e)

individually one of these burning pieces of
wood and apply it to his naked body, already
burned black with powder. These tormentors
presented themselves on every side of him so
that every way he ran around the post they
met him with the burning fagots and poles
so that in a short time he had nothing but
coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon.

Colonel Crawford, at this period of his
sufferings, besought the Almighty to have
mercy on his soul and spoke very low and
bore his torments with the most manly forti-
tude. He continued in all the extremities of
pain for one hour and three-quarters longer,
as near as I can Judge, when at last being
almost spent, he lay down on his belly: they
then scalped him, and repeatedly threw the
scalp in my face telling me "that was my
great Captain." Incidents of Border Life, p.
134.

This presents the terrible side of tlie Indian
character. It is only fair to state that on a
former occasion when a hostile move was con-
templated against the savages. Colonel Craw-
ford is said to have made the declaration that
'*no Indian was to be spared, friend or foe;
every redman must die." (J. M. Browne's
Oration, Centennial Battle Blue Licks, p. 12.)
On the border of civilization where there could
be no orderly administration of justice, the
savage of the stone age gratified his love of
revenge without restraint. With few excep-
tions thf only change that had been wrought
in his condition, since the time of LaSalle, who
was the first white man to traverse the country
from the Lakes to the Gulf, was the substitu-
tion of the rifle, the steel tomaliawk and the
scalping knife in place of the crude imple-
ments he formerly used. Instances might be
given to show tlie better side of his nature,
but one could never be certain whether he was
to deal with Dr. Jeckel or Mr. Hyde.

The warning was given Capt. Thomas ISIar-
shall in requittal of an act of kindness which he
performed for Simon Girty on a previous occa-
sion. During the French and Indian War an
English officer for some reason was going to
have Girty flogged but through Capt. Marshall's
interference the punishment was not inflicted.
Girty remembered the friendly act and adopted
this means of returning the favor. Altho Girty
abandoned the association of his own people and
cast his lot among the savages, he proved that
he had one of the good qualities of the Indian
of remembering an act of kindness even though
he became more cruel and bloodthirsty in grati-
fying his revenge.

The journey to Maysville or some place near
that locality where Capt. Marshall landed his
party was made without mishap. It was by no
means a pleasure excursion. A fusilade of bul-
lets indented the boat. The trunk of a tree
served as a guide for the rudder, which rising
above the elevated sides of the flat-bottom boat
afforded considerable protection. This position
of danger was taken by Capt. Marshall and he
was very careful to keep the trunk between him-
self and the flying bullets, which proved a wise
precaution. It was discovered afterwards that
the trunk was riddled with bullets, (a)

In addition to the dangers mentioned, for-
eign agents were busy stirring up trouble
amongst the native population who were none
too steadfast in their allegiance to the new Nat-
ional Government.

Organizations knowm as "Democratic Socie-
ties" which had been recently created were in
close sympathy with the Jacobin Clubs of
France. Washington considered that these so-
cieties which were patronized by Genet, were for
the purpose of drawing a line between the People
and the Government, {b)

It is credibly stated that upon his arrival he
planned an expedition against the Floridas and
another against Louisiana, the latter to be car-
ried on from the western part of the United
States. It was reported on good authority that
the principal officers were engaged for the
futherance of this project. "The Temper of the

people inhabiting the western country was such
as to furnish some grounds for apprehension
that the restraints, which the executive was
capable of imposing, would be found too feeble
to prevent the execution of the plan." (r) "T/ie
Governor of Kentucky 'was requested to co-
operate to jriistrate this improper application of
the military resources of the state." (d)

"It would have been difficult to find a part
of the United States in which anti-federal pas-
sions blazed more fiercely than in Kentucky.
The French emissaries found their project re-
received with the warmest favor." (e)

The authority of the Federal Government
rested upon such a flimsy foundation that at-
tempts were inade to ignore its existence, both
through domestic disaffection and unscrupulous
foreign agents. The Whiskey Rebellion in Penn-
sylvania in opposition to collecting the excise
tax and the discontent in Kentucky and else-
where for a similar reason manifested the law-
less spirit that arose in opposition to the exercise
of Federal authority. When open rebellion
against the enforcement of the law had subsided
the illicit manufacture of spirits under condi-
tions of secrecy had enriched their vocabulary
with the descriptive expression of "Moonshine."
This industry has been attended with violence
and lawlessness from its inception and many a
grewsome tragedy has served to keep alive its
unsavory tradition.

The imposition of a tariff to supply the

(a) Concerning firing on Boats, see N. J. Historical
.Society. Vol. 4, p. 114.

(b) Spark's Washing-ton. Vol. 10, p. 438.

There wa.'^ a considei-able element of the -Amer-
ican people who were consistent in their friend-
ship for Prance. This attachment dated back
to the days Avhen the French iMonarchy sent
its fleet and army to battle for American in-
dependence. This friendship abated none of
its constancy to Prance thru all of her kaleid-
oscopic changes.

(c) "Two circumstances occurred which tended to
create unfa^'orable impressions in Iventucl^y
toward the Government of the Union. One
was the utter inability of Congress to protect
them from the Northwestern tribes by com-
pelling the surrender of the posts or otherwise;
the other was the tendency of Congress to
surrender the rights to navigate the Missis-
sippi to the Ocean." (Collins History, Vol. 1,
p. 261.)

"(d) Marshall's Washington, Vol. 5, p. 435.

Collins' History of Kentucky, Vol. 3. p. 277..
(e) Collins' History of Kentucky, Vol. 2, p. 4S.

TORTURE OP COLONEL CRAWFORD BY THE INDIANS

CAPTAIN THOMAS MARSHALL IN A FIGHT IN A PLAT-BOTTOM BOAT

Government with means to operate was a skill-
ful device which made it possible to hold the
reins of government without those subject to its
authority being too conscious of the fact and be-
coming restive under the curb.

When Cornwallis struck his colors at York-
town the difficulties that stood in the way of
forming a new Government destined to take its
place among the Nations of the Earth were by
no means overcome. In fact, the very act of
removing the common danger which the war
with the Mother Country created seemed to oper-
ate as a dissolvent of the enforced unity of the
several colonies. The occasion of unity did not
arise from v/ithin except so far as mutual re-
sentiment against outside interference with
domestic concerns might be so considered.

The travail of the long struggle with the
Mother Country had brought into existence a
new Nation, but it was doubtful whether it
was not a still birth. No National lije or spirit
seemed to animate the masses and the antago-
nistic colonies. The love of independence might
easily be carried to an extreme. The bonds
which hold one in subjection to civil authority
were weakened when the Colonies were estab-
lished in the New World. The life of the frontier,
where frequently the pioneer had to depend
upon his own resourcefulness, and occasionally
the provincial Government, tended to wean him
from the Mother Country. The same spirit
served to make the people of the Colonies averse
to sacrificing any part of their independence
even though necessary for the formation of a
National Government strong enough to preserve
what had been acquired through so great a
sacrifice.

At this time Great Britain still retained
possession of a number of frontier posts south
of the Great Lakes and it was generally believed
that they were responsible for the uncompro-
mising attitudes of the natives, (a)

Washington appeared distrustful of the de-
signs of our European neighbors. In a letter to
Thomas Jefferson he writes: "If Spain is really
intriguing with the Southern Indians I shall en-

tertain strong suspicions that there is a very
clear understanding in all this business between
the courts of London and Madrid and that it is
calculated to check, as far as they can, the rapid
increase, extension and consequence of this
country." (6)

It was quite manifest that Great Britain
and Spain were planning mischief while the
French Republic sought to drag the nation into
the vortex of a European conflagration which
made an armed camp of the principal nations
of Europe. The aborigine, wedded to his savage
life was almost compelled by the law of neces-
sity to continue a struggle which could only
end in his extermination or conquest. The na-
tional government at this period was considered
almost as a foreign government by many of its
citizens, and the wholesome and necessary exer-
cise of its authority was seriously challenged by
some who stood in positions of grave responsi-
bility, (c)

The relations of the new national government
to the Indians involved complications. The
changes that had taken place might well confuse
the simple mind of the savage. After a long
rivalry between France and England he witness-
ed the breaking out of the French and Indian
war when most of the Indian tribes allied them-
selves with France; then followed English occu-
pation of Canada; afterwards the revolt of the
English colonies from the mother country when
the colonies and France were at war with Eng-
land. The Indians instinctively sided with
England against the Colonies perceiving that
the American government threatened them with
more immediate disaster. Notwithstanding this
they still retained their love for their old allies,

(a) Marshall's AVashington, Vol. 5, p. 642.

(b) Spark's Washington, Vol. 10, p. 280.

Lord Dorchester does not appear in the role of
a peace maker in delivering a speech to the
Grand Council ot the Miami's, 1793, when he
state.s that a war between Great Britain and
the United States was likely and that a "line
between the two Nations must be drawn with
the sword." Such observations were calculated
to excite trouble. It was like throwing a fire-
brand into a magazine filled with explosives.

(c) Efforts made by General H. Lee to obtain a
continental force of 700 or even 300 to protect
the western frontier were opposed lest it con-
fer too much po^vcr on the Federal Govern-
ment. Collins' History of Kentucky, \'ol. 1, p. 33.

the French. Colonel Clark, who was so ac-
tive in reducing the redmen to order also
appreciated the importance of obtaining the co-
operation of the French inhabitants in the newly
acquired territory. Through the latter the
Indians were told that "their old father, the
King of France, was come to life again and was
mad with them for fighting with the English;
that if they did not wish the land to be bloody
with war, they must make peace with the
Americans." (a)

Peace was finally concluded with the Indians.
"The various parties were assembled, white and
red; the Chief who was to open the Council,
advanced to the table at which Col. Clark was
sitting, "with the belt of peace," in his hand,
another with the sacred pipe, and a third with
the fire to kindle it. After the fire was lighted
it was presented to the heavens, then to the earth
and completing a circle was presented to all the
spirits, invoking them to witness what was about
to be done. The pipe was presented to Col.
Clark and afterwards to every person present."
When these formalities were finished the speak-
er addressed himself to the Indians as follows:
"Warriors, you ought to be thankful that the
Great Spirit has taken pity on you, has cleared
the sky and opened your ears and hearts, so
that you may hear the truth and we hope that,
as the Great Spirit has brought us together for
good, as he is good, so we may be received as
friends and peace may take the place of the
bloody belt." The speaker then threw in the
middle of the room the bloody belt of wampum
and flags which they had received from the
British and stamped upon them in token of re-
jection. Afterwards Col. Clark made his reply;
then the pipe was again kindled and presented
to all the spirits as witnesses." (b) It was smoked
and the Council was concluded by shaking hands.

The Western Country along the Ohio and
Mississippi appeared to be the storm centre (c)
where a post oj observation had to be main-
tained to guard against the intrigues oj Great
Britain on the North and the designs oj Spain
in the South and West, seeking to control the
natural outlet oj a large part oj the commerce oj
the United States by the Mississippi River.

The Northern and Southern Indians who had
been accustomed from an early period to invad-
ing the state in pursuit of game or for war-like
purposes created another element of disturbance.
There was a great deal of disaffection among the
white population of the state and a considerable
portion of it was suitable material for designing
and intriguing mischief-makers.

It is quite clear that the situation required
the presence of a clear-headed and dominating
personality to confirm the wavering in their al-
legiance and guard against the dangers along
the frontier.

The stars of our political firmament were still
nebulous and unformed and the Nation had not
yet become an "Indestructible Union of Inde-
structible States."

In support of this supposition, it is well
knov.n by the student of American History that
during the early days of the Republic only the
feeblest tie held the citizen in his allegiance to
the Federal Government. The Colony, and after-
ward the State seemed to engage his affection
and appeal to his loyalty. It must be borne in
mind that the supremacy of the Federal Gov-
ment and the indissolubility of the Union was
only finally settled by the Civil W'ar. In
fact, at this period the Federal Government was
regarded with suspicion and at times with dis-
trust. To explain this more fully a brief review
of the events of that period might suffice. Before
Kentucky became a state nine constitutional con-
ventions were held, 1784-1790, demanding a
separation from Virginia, (d)

The State of Virginia consented on condition
that Kentucky would be admitted as a State in
the Federal Union. Afterwards there was a
strong sentiment manifested in favor of a separa-
tion from the Federal Government due in a great

(a) Butler's Hi.story of Kentucky, p. 63.
(h) Butler's History of Kentucky, p. 71.

(c) Kentucky lies topographically in the center of
the grouping- of states." Collins' History, Vol.
1. p. 335.

(d) General Wilkinson formed the Kentucky seces-
sion movement and declared his intention of
becoming the "Washington of the West." Bev.
Mar. Vol. 3, p. 2S4. CJeneral Wilkin.«on .said
"Spain might concede to Kentucky alone what
she would not to the United States." (Collins"
History of Kentucky. Vol. 1, p. 270 >

Ooohnir It >*„-. A/A, j;-

D^n. (E^is DB'Gi; 11

'X;iL,>i5i]Il,

COLONEL CLARK MAKING A TREATY OP PEACE WITH THE INDL-VNS

measure to the Jay Treaty with Spain which
deeded to that Nation the rights of navigation
on the Mississippi River for twenty-five years.
The supposition was advanced that most of the
settlers were loyal and that this means was em-
ployed to bring pressure to bear upon the Fed-
eral Government. Resolutions were drawn up in
1798 by Thomas Jeft'erson condemning the
Alien and Sedition Laws as being extra-consti-
tutional, (a) This meant practically an asser-
tion of state sovereignty, equal if not superior
to the National authority. The Supreme Court
of the United States was not even considered as
the proper authority to pass on the question.
It affords matter for serious consideration when
one recalls that Thomas Jefferson, who after-
wards became president of the United States,
was the author of these resolutions.

The following quotation at a considerably
later period is interesting reading for the present
generation: "The Federal Government is in
truth our foreign Government, which depart-
ment alone is taken from the departure of the
several states." (b) We pass to a later period
to search for responsibility for the nullification
and secession doctrines, but who can say how
far declarations of this character were the real
cause of crystalizing sentiment in opposition to
the Government?

There was one central idea around which all
the Colonists rallied, the principle of local selj-
government. This principle furnished a basis of
union against the Mother Country when the
attempt was made to govern the colonies without
giving them representation, and against their
consent. This principle carried to an extreme
greatly embarrassed the work of creating a Na-
tional Government.

An external danger imperfectly furnished a
common basis for union and co-operation but
when this was removed the victory threatened
a disaster almost as great as defeat. The suc-
cess of \^'ashington in the field, the statesman-
ship of Hamilton, and the long and powerful
efforts of Marshall upon the bench to impart
vitality to the constitution of the United States,
barely sufficed to hold the Union intact until

the "inevitable conflict" broke out, and the Na-
tion was finally established upon a permanent
basis, (c)

The Continental Congress was only a league
representing the several colonies; the Articles
of Confederation, while an improvement upon
what might be described as an "Entente" be-
tween the Colonies was little better than "a
rope of sand" except so far as it was an earnest
of more than complete accord and harmony of
action.

It seems likely that the secession movement
at a later period was only the reanimation of the
old disunion feeling which almost prevented the
formation of a National Government. One
might look in vain in the debates between the
statesmen on the question of the relation of the
state to the Federal Government for the explan-
ation of the division of public sentiment. It ante-
dates the foundation of the National Govern-
ment; the attachment to the state as distinct
from the National Government was inherited
from the old Colonial system, and when new
states were formed, they were considered by
many as the creations of a confederacy, not of
a National Government. This view has no bear-
ings upon the subject of how the Constitution
should be considered or construed as a legal
document. The statesmen who framed it had
their own views respecting what it meant, and
it is certain, they were seriously divided on the
subject. The debates undoubtedly furnished up
to date arguments, but the sentiment of loyalty
to the State as distinct from the National Gov-
ernment, had its origin in the colonial period,
the final adoption of the Constitution of the
United States, after considerable delay and with

(a) Kentucky re.solutions declared "that the Con-
stitution of the United States is a compact be-
tween the several states, as states; each sover-
eign state being- an integral part to the com-
pact. That as in other compacts between equal
sovereigns, who have no judge, each party has
a right to interpret the compact for itself, and
is bound by no interpretation but its own.
That the general governmnt has no final right
in any of its branches to interpret the extent
of its own powers." (Col. Vol. 1, p. 2S5 by Jef-
erson.)

(b) Jefferson's Letter to Robert Garnet, February
12, 1S26, Henry Adams, Vol. 1. p. 216.

(c) As late as 1S04 there was a strong Fpileralist
sentiment in favor of secession. (Bev. Mar.

Vol. 3, p. 26.)

the greatest reluctance, affording no great as-
surance that the sections out of which a National
Government was to be formed had really be-
come fused into a national unit; a national pub-
lic sentiment had not as yet been created or de-
veloped. Even at the late period of the crisis
which brought on a Civil War the habit was
greatly prevalent of looking to the state as the
final source of authority, and many, if not the
majority of the people, during that conflict
were decided by the action of their native states.
The most notable instance was that of General
Robert E. Lee who refused the command of the
Federal Army and followed the action of his
state, although personally opposed to secession.

The present generation, educated in a differ-
ent social and political atmosphere, are unable
readily to appreciate the weakness of the senti-
ment of nationality during the early days of
the Republic. This state of mind transmitted
to a later period influenced the secession move-
ment which brought on the Civil War. Per-
haps this mental attitude on the part of a large
portion of the public had more to do with the
final outcome of the controversy between the
sections than the arguments or theories of John
C. Calhoun and other statesmen of that school.
Altho the individual is apt to suppose that he
acts on his own initiative, it would probably sur-
prise him to learn that he is to a large extent
merely a creature of circumstances which have
moulded him.

The population of the United States at the
close of the American Revolution was well under
four million inhabitants spread over an area
that e.xtended from the St. Lawrence and the
Lakes to Florida, and west to the Mississippi
River, already an immense empire, altho occu-
pying less than half of its present area. The
means of communication were of the most prim-
itive character and consequently hindered to a
great extent that social intercourse which tends
to create a National public opinion. The press,
that powerful agency for giving e.xpression to
public sentiment and creating it, possessed a
very feeble and uncertain existence. Illiteracy
was quite prevalent throughout most of the
country and the difficulty of reaching a public

so scattered and almost inaccessible still further
curtailed the influence of the press. The great
bulk of the population lay east of the Alle-
ghanies and along the navigable water courses
which provided natural means of communication
and intercourse, (a)

The development of the modern agencies
of communication were in those days unknown;
it was before the days of railroads, steamboats
automobiles, telephones and telegraphy, which
are now so potent in facilitating the interchange
of ideas.

If one bears in mind the foregoing facts it
may be possible to imagine the conditions that
existed when Col. Thomas ^Marshall exiled him-
self and several members of his family from
his native state of Virginia and sought a new
domicile in the Kentucky wilderness.

The region west of the Alleghanies in those
da3's was hardly effected by the tide of immi-
gration which had been confined chiefly to the
Atantic sea-board. It was still practically the
wilderness of the savage and the trapper; a few
hardy spirits formed the pioneer class living
on the outskirts of civilization, and established
a fringe of settlements in this region.

It appeared that at this period Kentucky
was the center of disaffection in the western
country. It was quite evident that a careful
supervision was required in that locality. Col.
Thomas IMarshall seemed to be the man the
situation especially demanded.

In this connection it is well to consider what
inflamable material was ready for the purpose
of a designing schemer. The weakly assembled
parts of the Federal Government and the slender
tie that held them together made them a tempt-
ing prey for political intrigue. Taking advantage
of this state of affairs, Genet, the French Min-
ister, (as heretofore indicated) sought to em-
broil the United States in a European War al-
most in defiance of the Federal authority. (/>)

(a) Smith's Wealth of Nations, p. 26.

(b) It would have been difficult to find a part of
the United States in which anti-federal pas-
sions blazed more fiercely than in Kentucky.
The French emissaries found tiieir mission re-
ceived the utmost favor. (Collins' History of
Kentucky, p. 4 8.)

f

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A''.- 9^ ;

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*^--'

Summing up the situation, then, we iind
that Kentucky was the center of all the disturb-
ing elements that threatened the solidity, if not
the very life of the new Republic. Spain and
afterwards France were disposed to impose con-
ditions for the privilege of using the Mississippi
River; England found a pretext for retaining
the posts on the Lakes; the savage viewed with
well grounded apprehensions the growth of the
new government and the settlement and occu-
pation of Kentucky was the first formidable
advance of civilization across the Alleghanies
and was a rude thrust into a veritable hornet's
nest of savages; the independence of its pio-
neer population verging to lawlessness could
hardly brook the assertion of this strange nation-
al authority though imposed ever so gently; and
finally, to crown all these hardships and trials,
influential public men sought to undermine the
Federal authority which might have been
reasonably considered more a phantom than a
reality.

When all these sinister tendencies are con-
sidered and that in Kentucky they reached
their most acute state, it is easy to understand
what must have inspired the migration of Col.
Marshall to that region and from what source
came that inspiration. The thought turns our
attention to the man who for nearly eight years

(a) We have certain pertinent facts before us, but
the actual' truth will never be known. The
clear perception of Washing"ton g'rapped the
situation; he was fully aware of the dangers
to the new g"overnnient from disorganizing^
tendencies. He must have known and appreci-
ated the character of Col. Marshall and have
relied upon him to exercise a vigilant super-
vision in that important section.

During the early days in Virginia, Beveridge
says, "Thomas Marshall always acted with

bore the burdens of a struggle checkered with
many reverses and at its conclusion might well
have his misgivings whether the victor's wreath
was not a crown of thorns.

Col. Marshall, when he emigrated to Ken-
tucky, being fifty-three years of age, was past
the time of life when youthful ardor and love of
adventure would be likely to cause him to turn
his back upon a life of ease and comfort, which
must have been to him a welcome relief after his
strenuous experience during the Revolutionary
War. It was of the utmost importance, how-
ever, to establish a post of observation during
this unsettled period in a section which more
than any other seemed to concentrate the dis-
affection so rife in the Republic; someone was
required with sufficient influence to curb the
lawless spirits who are apt to mistake license and
insubordination for the proper exercise of their
liberties. The backwoodsman and Indian fighter
were bold, open-hearted and adventurous, but
they might easily become pliable material in the
hands of a plausible and designing man. (a)

A candid review of the foregoing statement
of facts would therefore corroborate the tradition
that policy and patriotic motives more than per-
sonal interest inspired Col. Marshall with the
idea of forming a settlement in Kentucky.

Washington." This tends to show how close
were their relations. (Bev. Marshall, Vol. 1,
p. G4-note.)

Colonel Marshall had also served under Wash-
ington during the Revolutionary War.
"In his boyhood. Colonel Marshall is said to
have attended with George 'Washington the
school of Rev. Archibald Campbell, Rector of
Washington Parish. He also accompanied

Washington in his surveying excursions for
Lord Fairfax." &c. (The Marshall Family, by
Wm. M. Paxton.)

^ 3m iMitniam

JT is hard to conceive at the present time
of the obstacles that stood in the way
of the statesman who undertook the work
of construction at the end of the Ameri-
can Revolution. The common danger having
been removed, it remained to be seen what in-
ternal tendencies might operate to draw the col-
onies together.

The first settlers, restless under political
and religious restraints, sought in the Xew World
a freedom denied them on their native soil.
Their influence was considerable in shaping the
early life of the colonies but subsequent migra-
tions were of a different character and greatly
modified social conditions.

A virgin country where a totally new en-

vironment gave scope to the development of
free thought, produced a population quite dis-
similar to the Mother Country and likewise jeal-
ous of their rights and independence as separate
colonies.

Account must also be taken of the new lib-
eralizing spirit of the age which made its effect
felt in the Old World as well as the New. This
spirit tended to question all sources of authority
and was the fore-runner of the conception that
government should be based upon the consent of
the governed. The soil of America where the
colonists had become accustomed to depending
upon themselves in so many ways was congenial
to the development of this theory. It was a logical
sequence to the overthrow of the divine rights
of kings, but it still left the question open re-
specting the source and center of political author-
ity. Evidently the people were compelled to as-
sume this responsibility.

It was easier to unite the Colonies for a
common defense, imperfect as that Union man-
ifested itself, than to establish a Government
which embodied the principle of permanent au-
thority. To subject the public will to self-
imjjosed limitations in adopting a Constitution
easily led to misconceptions respecting the
necessity for such a limitation. Yielding to the
natural tendency for considering the British form
of Government as its pattern excepting in re-
spect to certain changes that had already been
determined, it became necessary to give the
United States Constitution a character that
made it radically different. A conservative
sentiment which would preserve inviolate time-
honored traditions had not yet been developed.
It was obvious that constitutional safeguards
must be rendered secure against a capricious
popular sentiment. At a later period the de-
cisions of Chief Justice Marshall pointed the
way to establishing the United States Supreme
Court as its true guardian. It was true that
Great Britain had a Constitution, but Parlia-
ment was the sole judge respecting its limita-
tions and upon the judgement of Parliament the
electorate could finally decide. The nescessity
for imposing rules upon oneself is not readily

preceived by most people; especially is this the
case among those who are accustomed to taking
the law in their own hands. It is significant
that even the Almighty exercises His Will thru
established laws. It is undoubtedly true that
the greatest progress has been made in govern-
ment when settled rules have been substituted
for the exercise of capricious will power.

The spirit which arose in opposition to
governmental authority exercised in disregard
of public sentiment was tempted to lawlessness
and defiance of all authority. ((/) Instances of
this evil tendency were frequent in the Colonies,
and even to a far greater extent in France at that
time, whose autocratic government was overturn-
ed by a popular uprising shortly after the Ameri-
can Revolution. Its successive revolutionary
governments wanting in stability, seemed to rest
upon quicksand.

Perhaps the worst besetting sin of a popular
government is disregard of legal authority. The
ex-pression of "dead-letter laws" has passed into a
by-word and is a symptom of this malady.

Popular self-government has been tried in
early times, under very difl'erent conditions. The
experiments attempted in Greece and Rome were
soon abandoned when their authority was ex-
tended over a great extent of territory and over
alien peoples. With the increase of wealth, the
corruption of the franchise rapidly undermined
the free expression of the popular will, while the
vast alien population within the government
proved a menace to the small number who exer-
cised it.

Before the establishment of the government
of the United States, a subject or citizen en-
tered into that condition by virtue of birth. It
was a condition created by the operation of a
natural law and not by the act of the individual.
The necessity of readily absorbing the ever in-
creasing population largely made up of foreign
immigration resulted in devising a plan for
naturalization. This made considerable addi-
tion to the number of citizens of foreign birth.
The development of this policy essentially mod-

(a) See Bev. Marshall. Vol. 1, p. 275.

JOHN MARSHALL, CHIEF JUSTICE

ifies the conception of allegiance; it implies the
right of the native born to change his allegiance
and is a direct denial of the contention that it
is an unalterable condition of birth. It gave
expression to an advanced idea that attachment
to a principle of government took precedence
of natural allegiance.

The liberal policy pursued by the United
States in admitting to citizenship people of for-
eign origin evaded the danger of having a large
alien population within its borders bound by no
ties of allegiance. With the gradual weakening
of racial prejudice and the development of class
antagonism, which did not confine itself to any
country, but rapidly extended thruout a great
part of Europe as well as in the United States,
civilization was entering upon a new phase.

In what way was the United States related
to this change? Is it conceivable that estab-
lishing a government based upon self-determina-
tion, already timidly manifesting itself in the
Old World, could of itself give such a vigorous
impulse to the advancement of popular govern-
ment. It would certainly be rash to claim that
organizing such a Government in the New World
was sufficient of itself to bring about the great
social upheavals that almost immediately follow-
ed in Europe and within a decade led to the es-
tablishment of Republics to the south in Spanish
America. The spirit to effect such a change had to
some degree already manifested itself. But the
example of such a government being already
established, produced a tremendous impression
and gave more definite direction to the yearning
for a new order of things where the popular will
might find expression.

Now when authority, based upon hereditary
principle, had been overthrown and a new basis
of government was sought, the difficulty of
creating a legal mechanism thru which the pop-
ular will might function presented itself. The
conser\'atism that still tenaciously held to the
colonial government had to be respected while
making effective the principle of popular gov-
ernment. The result was about what might have
been expected, declarations of broad and gen-
eral principles embodying the most advanced

ideas in government and a complicated system of
checks and balances in distributing the powers
of government between the state and National
Governments.

It is doubtful whether the people of the
several states had a clear conception of the
scheme devised to furnish them with a new
government. Two ideas were clearly defined; it
meant the destruction of the hereditary principle
in government and a closer union of mutual pro-
tection.

Obediance to laws imposed by an hereditary
authority so long as the public conscience feels
it a duty to respect that authority can be readily
understood, but the duty to respect laws and
authority self-imposed might easily lead to con-
fusion in the minds of many. It might impress
them more as a question oj expediency than a
civic duty. The will of the majority is a vague
and undefined sovereignty which is not likely to
impress the imagination. Too often that major-
ity is obtained thru the default of an awakened
public sentiment to assert itself. Experience of
the present day rather tends to indicate lax
obedience and disrespect for official authority. It
is instructive to study the practical working out
of this principle in the United States at the
present time. Colossal corporations, formerly of
capital and afterward of labor, have appeared to
overshadow the majesty of the law. The means
provided by government for the redress of
grievances are too frequently regarded with
suspicion even tho emanating from the popular
will. The tendency of society to break up into
classes and the classes into groups, having
special interests, is plain to the most casual
observer. The result is the formation of organ-
izations to promote the welfare of special inter-
ests. This tendency is natural and, kept within
reasonable bounds, serves useful purposes, but
the temptation to abuse the possession of power
is often too great to be resisted.

The autocratic demands of labor leaders
within a recent period have not infrequently
prostrated the business and the transportation
systems of the country; not satisfied with inter-
fering with the enforcement of the law to pro-

tect the rights of the community, they have not
stopped short of overawing the officials in charge
of the Government and compelled the enactment
of the so-called Adamson law. This law was not
enacted in compliance with a popular demand,
but under compulsion. It was the summit to
which labor autocracy has yet attained and
marks the crowning official humiliation of our
representatives in authority. The national crisis
when the government became involved in the
World War afforded an opportunity to exact
demands favorable to certain organized groups
from which the great mass of the people could
derive no benefit. These instances indicate the
danger to which a popular form of govern n\ent
is exposed; the corrective remedy seems to be in
an enlightened public opinion and in electing to
public office servants with sufficient courage to
maintain the ascendance of the law, and protect
the public welfare against the assaults of an
organized self-centered minority.

Popular control in Government, means that
social tendencies shall have free scope to develop.
It is undoubtedly true that a definite policy can
be conceived and carried out better under a
strong autocratic government; it has more cer-
tainty of purpose. It may be questioned
whether the ship of state does not drift with
too little guidance under the former, and whether
under the latter failure to appreciate the signs of
the times may not lead frequently to wanton and
useless obstruction of necessary social changes.
It may be that the attempt to attain perfection in
the art of government or in creating the mechan-
ism to that end is visionary, but assupiing that
popular control which is bound to have its day is
the best, what are the chances of its submitting
to capable and conservative leadership? The
question is easily asked, but how will it be
answered?

The political organism bears an analogy to
the body, being subject to certain physical laws,
which have to be recognized. Social tendencies
are no less insistent, whether they manifest tliem-
selves as a disease that must run its course, or as
a wholesome change that will ad\ance the well
being of society by its acceptance.

It is not at all unlikely that society in the
long run will fare better under a form of govern-
ment, which reflects its moods, Iho sometimes
wrong, than under the wisest statesmanship, (ii
that can be found,) which may occasionly op-
pose the social tendencies that must be worked
out by actual experiment.

The advent of the American Republic be-
tokened the dawn of a new era, destructive of the
hereditary principle in government and fixing
official responsibility. The hope of the future
lies in the successful working out of this theory
which at first was regarded as an experiment, but
which has now well passed beyond that stage,
yet stands in need of greater improvement
*****

The foregoing narrative deals mainly with
political conditions explaining the purpose Col.
Marshall had in view in migrating to Kentucky
and establishing there his headquarters and
post of observation. The following, however,
seems worthy of being recorded:

An adventure of Col. Thomas Marshall dur-
ing the early days of his sojourn at the Old House
has been preserved by tradition. It is related
that riding home one evening, he became aware
that he was being pursued by a band of Indians.

Me acted as tho he suspected nothing. Being
faintly visible in the twilight he rode his horse
under the shade of some trees whose dense foliage
served as a screen to hide him from \'iew. He
then quickly dismounted and gi\'ing the horse a
smarting cut with the whip, hid among the
bushes at the road-side. The excited animal
immediately started off at full speed and true to
its instincts directed its course toward home.

The Indians having discovered that their
presence was known, but believing that the
rider was still on the horse, started off in pur-
suit. When the savages, like so many spectres,
had vanished in the darkness and the clattering
hoofs of the terrified horse were heard no longer,
Col. Marshall made his way to Maysville, or
Limestone, as it was formerly called, where he
soon collected a party of hardy backwoodsmen
to go to the rescue of his family, whom he had
reason to believe would require help.

MR. MARTIN MARSHALL,
FORMER RESIDENT OF THE "OLD HOUSE ON THE HILL"

LITTLE "LOUIS MARSHALL"

FIFTH GENERATION FROM COLONEL THOMAS MARSHALL

BORN IN THE "OLD HOUSE ON THE HILL"

Being continually exposed to the danger of
sudden attacks, the frontiersman was trained to
quick thinking and prompt action. Col. Mar-
shall rightly conjectured that the horse would
run home. He was not deceived in his calcula-
tion. Mrs. Marshall, when she saw the riderless
horse knew that there was danger near at hand.
There was no time to speculate respecting the
fate of her husband. His remains might be
lying somewhere tomahawked and scalped, or he
might be in a life and death grapple with his
treacherous foe. It was the time for decision and
cjuick action. The house was put in a state of
defense. Scarcely were the doors and windows
barricaded (a) than the savages arrived and sur-
rounded the house. The attack was continued
for quite a while against its resolute defenders
until Col. Marshall and his ])arty arrived and
routed the savages, who were in the act of set-
ting fire to the house.

An incident of the Old House at a later per-
iod of its history may be of interest. It is well
known that Kentucky was quite equally bal-
anced in its sympathies between th? North and
South during the crises of the Civil War. One
acquainted with the state's history recalls the
patriotic service rendered Ly Martin P. Marshall,
the adopted son of Chief Justice Marshall, in
keeping the state from straying out of the fold.
There should be added to the Roll of Honor on
account of their support of the Union cause the
names of Hon. James K. Speed, Attorney-Gen-
eral in President Lincoln's cabinet, and Benja-
min A. Bristow, afterward Postmaster-General
in President Grant's cabinet, and Kemp Goodloe,
a prominent lawyer of Louisville. (/))

The language used by Washington at an
early period about the western country, repre-
.sented principally by Kentucky, would have
been quite as applicable at the commencement
of the Civil War: "Standing as it were upon a
pivot, the touch of a feather would turn it
either way." (r)

In the year 1874, as nearly as can be
ascertained, Hon. jNIartin Marshall received a
visit from his loyal L^^nion compatriots above

mentioned, whose services were so decisive in
keeping the state loyal to the Federal Govern-
ment. These gentlemen journeyed by boat from
Louisville to Maysville, where they were met by
the conveyance of Mr. Marshall and driven to
the "Old House on the Hill." It would hardly
seem a mere accident that such a place was
selected as a rendevous for these loyal souls.
Tradition has not preserved a detailed account
of the conversation among them, but it is
creditably reported that it was replete with
anecdotes and reminisences about the "(_)ld
House on the Hill' and the part it played in
the National life when the Federal Government
was being formed and its discordant elements
were being knitted together. Still true to its
traditions there survived the spirit that would
preserve what had been created.

When the hour of parting drew near all
realized that it was for the last time. It is not
necessary to intrude into the affecting farewell
that was taken of the old place and of each
other.

'iVhen the walls of the "Old House on the
Hill" rose above their foundations, the pioneer
dressed in "homespun" clothes or skins of wild
animals, and the savages were the only inhabi-
tants of Kentucky. The region west of the
Alleghanies was practically an unbroken wild-
erness. Great herds of buffalo, elk, deer and
other wild animals, also feathered game which
came in immense flocks that darkened the sky,
supplied in abundance the needs of the few in-
habitants. The old flintlock (muzzle-loading)
rifle was the constant companion of the frontiers-

fa) T have Vipen told by a later g'eneratinn tliat
the orisinal window.s of the house were quite
.■iinaU and were afterward enlarsed.

(hi The foUowing- graphic account is given of the
la.ft ses.sion nf the Kentucky Legislature at-
tended hy Unionists and Confederates before
thpv had actually taken jiart in the struggle'
"When the final session closed, as its members
parted and clasped hands in adieu, they bade
each other Good-Speed, well knowing that
commissions in the Federal Army were already
signed for many, and that for many more Con-
federate soldiers were waiting as leaders:
knowing too that when they met again to
argue the question, it would be the assize of
blood, and decided by the wager of }iattle."
Collins' History of Kentucky. Vol. 1, p. 341.

(c) .'^park's Washington. Vol. 9. p. G3.

man, even when cultivating the ground. Only
the savage or the pioneer skilled in woodcraft
could safely venture in the great wilderness
which lay west of the AUeghanies.

"The Old House on the Hill" in those days
was an imposing edifice with its walls of brick in
a great wilderness, where only the log-cabin or
the Indian wigwam furnished shelter for human
beings. The few luxuries for the Marshall
homestead, after being transported thru miles
of wilderness to Wheeling and from that point
floated down the river, presented a strong con-
trast to the simple life of the backwoodsman.
For many years this mansion continued a social
centre after the savage had disappeared. With-
in its walls have assembled the leading citizens
of the state up to the period of the Civil War,
and even afterward its prestige was not for some
time dimmed. It had not long to wait to see
itself displaced as a frontier post. The Louis-
iana purchase, 1803, removed the barrier which
held back the tide of emigration that has con-

tinued to press westward until the frontier has
finally disappeared. The business and indus-
trial development of the state and the increase
of wealth have revolutionized the social life and
architecture. Today the sight-seer would hardly
regard the Old House as an object worthy of his
attention because of its imposing appearance. It
possesses, however, a character and a history
which leaves it without a rival. It has witnessed
the painful struggle of the Federal Government
to establish itself and take its place among the
Nations of the earth; it has watched like a sen-
tinel in the wilderness guarding against the in-
roads of the natives, the intrigues of the courts of
London and Madrid, the questionable adventurer
of the Burr type seeking to stir up the elements of
disaffection in a population too much accustomed
to the unrestrained license of the frontier: it has
felt the thrill which vibrated from the French
Revolution, while Genet craftily sought to inflame
the embers of discontent into a blaze, and having
watched like a faithful guardian, it has grown old
and been forgotten.

'&ir IranBit gloria mmtftf*

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Thomas Marshall, Sr., 1730-1802.
Mary Keith M., his wife, 1737-1809.

Their children buried here are:
Thomas Marshall, Jr., 1760-1817.
Frances Kennan, his wife, 1772-1833.
Susan McClurg, 1774-1858.
Charlotte Marshall Duke, (doubtful) 1777-1817.

Children of Thomas Marshall, Jr:
Thomas Marshall III, 1793-1853 ( no others of

his family.)
John Marshall, 1795-1859;
Lucy Marshall, 1796-1835 (daughter of A.K.M.)
Mary K. Green, 1797-1887;
Eliza C. Marshall, 1801-1874;
Martin P. Marshall, son of Charles M., Sr.,

1798-1883;
Lucy Ambler Marshall (wife of N. D. Coleman)

1802-1858;
Charles A., 1809-1896;
Phoebe A. (his wife) 1817-1902;

Children of John and Lucy Marshall:
Ann Maria (James Paxton, her husband)
Fanny M. Chambers, 1818-1840;

Mary McDowell Marsliall, 1837-1899;
John Marshall, 1830-1896;
James Marshall, 1835-1913;

Children of M. P. and Eliza Marshall:
Mary Willes Marshall, 1829-1908;
R. M. Marshall, 1832-1911;
Susan M. :\Iassie, 1838-1915;
Phoebe A. Marshall, 1840-1915;

Children of Charles A. and Phoebe Marshall:
Maria, 1836-1862;

Eliza (wife of Maurice Waller) 1841-1909;
Sarah P., 1854-1854;
Charles A., Jr., 1855-1859;
Susan, 1843-1849;
Sarah Belle Waller, 1878-1914;
Fannie (daughter of Frances Marshall) 1854-
1854;

Children of A. M. and Eliza F. Marshall:
William F., 1861-1873;
Eliza, 1857-1858;
Thomas, 1871-1876;
Louis, 1874-1910;
Hester (wife of J. P. Marshall) 1852-1908.

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