fitable land business fell into the hands of the locators. As he was young and extremely active, and one of the best footmen in the West, he soon became an expert woodsman, to be which was an indispensable qualification of a land locator, as the country was then an entire and unbroken wilderness. No roads, or even paths, led from one part to the other; and besides these difficulties, the restless Indians were continually on the alert to surprise and cut off surveying parties. The surveyors, too, had to explore the country, in order to find the most fertile lands, and in doing this they were obliged to traverse the woods in every direction, guess at courses, and judge of distances. Young Massie soon became an expert surveyor, and it was a matter of astonishment, (as he was raised in the dense population east of the mountains) how soon he acquired the science and habits of the backwoodsmen. Although he never practised the art of hunting, he was admitted by all, who knew his qualifications as a woodsman, to be of the first order. He could steer his course truly in clear or cloudy weather, and compute distances more correctly than most of the old hunters. He could endure fatigue and hunger, with more composure than the most of those persons who were inured to want on the frontier. He could live upon meat without bread, and bread without meat, and was perfectly cheerful and contented with his fare. In all the perilous situations in which he was placed, he was always conspicuous for his good feeling and the happy temperament of his mind. His courage was of a cool and dispassionate character, which added to great circumspection in times of danger, gave him a complete ascendancy over his companions, who were always willing to follow when Massie led the way.

The field of young Massie's activity seems not to have been confined, during this period, to the business of locating and surveying lands. In the fall of 1786,

we find him interested with Gen. James Wilkinson in speculations in salt, which on account of its scarcity, and the absolute necessity of the article, rendered it very valuable. There were then few places in the western country, where salt could be made to any advantage. The art of boring for salt water was then unknown, and the few places where salt was made, were where the water rose to the level of the earth, which from its great mixture with fresh water, generally required eight hundred or a thousand gallons of the water to make fifty pounds or a bushel of salt, which sold for two to five dollars, per bushel. The principal manufactories in Kentucky, were Bullitt's and Mann's licks near Louisville, from which the inhabitants of the West were scantily supplied at an enormous price. From two old letters from Gen. Wilkinson to Massie, which are inserted below, we learn that Massie was about to start for Nashville, on the Cumberland river, with a barge load of salt. Gen. Wilkinson, as the senior partner, directed the affairs of the firm, and, from his letters of instruction to Massie, shows his remarkable cunning, and the means employed, at that day, to keep from being overreached. The General, at that time, was one of the largest dealers of merchandize in the West, and one of the most popular men in the country, and was well known to be a man of the first order of talents, and great discrimination as to the character of men. Whether Massie made or sunk money in the salt speculation is not known, and the subject is introduced chiefly to show in what articles of trade the commerce of the country consisted, and the manner in which it was conducted; and also to show that Massie, young as he was, had rendered his name respectable by his industry and attention to business. The confidence placed in him by Gen. Wilkinson shows the light in which he viewed him. These letters further show the manner in which business was transacted, and informa

tion communicated between different parts of the country This was done, generally, by means of expresses. It was eight or ten years after that period, before post routes and post offices afforded their facilities to the inhabitants of Kentucky.

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· Danville, December 19, 1786. "DEAR SIR-I beg you to proceed with all possible dispatch to the falls. You will call by the lick, and urge the provision of the salt; and prepare some way of conveying it to the river, &c. &c. You will make the best of your way to Nashville, and there dispose of it for cotton, beaver furs, racoon skins, otter, &c. You must always observe to get as much cash as you can. When you have completed your sales, you will yourself move with the horses, &c., by land, and commit the other articles, with the barge, to Captain Alexander, with directions to him to proceed up to the falls, there secure the boat and property, and give me the earliest advice of his arrival, by express or otherwise. The goods which Captain Alexander carries down to the falls, I wish you to exchange for horses, or elegant high blooded mares, if you can get great bargains; otherwise, sell them for cash, peltry, or cotton. When you receive the salt, take care to have it measured in a proper honest way, with a spade or shovel, and no sifting, &c. One Smith is preparing to go down with two or three hundred bushels from the lower lick. Endeavor to get off before him, and if you cannot, persuade him to stay for you; but you must not wait for him a moment, as it will be your interest to arrive before him. You will remember you are going amongst a set of sharpers, and therefore must take care of yourself. Write to me by every opportunity, letting me know how you come on. Don't fail in this. God bless you and give you good luck. "Yours sincerely,

"J. WILKINSON."

"Fayette, 29th Dec. 1786, Friday Morning. "DEAR MASSIE :-I approve of your plan to go to the port with two hundred bushels of salt, and sell for cash or furs, but take no deer skins. Be sure and get as many otters as possible. Be cautious in your movements, guard against the savages, coming and going, and discharge your men the moment you get to the port. The only thing you have to dread is the ice. To be caught in the ice would be worse than the devil's own luck. Act with decision and despatch in whatever you do. God bless you.

"J. WILKINSON."

CHAPTER II.

As much as could be learned of the life of General Massie, while engaged in business in Kentucky, has been related in the last chapter. We have now arrived at a period in his life, when my own information will serve me, instead of the scanty materials from which the narrative of his early life has been gathered. The facts, that I shall relate, will be connected with the exploring and settlement of our own portion of the state, and I hope will interest both the old and young. To the old settlers, it will bring to remembrance the privations and hardships endured, and the difficulties and dangers long since passed through, and now almost forgotten in the lapse of time. To the young of the land, it will be a bright example, as it will place before them the hardy virtues of those men, who by their bravery, enterprize, and industry, have astonished the world by the power with which they wrested our country from its savage inhabitants, and have, within a few years, made it almost the garden spot of the land. Mr. Trumbull, in his history of Connecti

cut, referring to the early history and settlement of new countries, in his beautiful and appropriate language, says, that "no man of genius, taste, and curiosity, can read the accounts of the origin of nations, the discovery, settlement, and progress of new countries, without a high degree of entertainment. But in the settlement of his own country, in the lives of his ancestors, in their adventures and heroism, he feels himself particularly interested. He at once becomes a party in their affairs, and travels and converses with them, with a kind of filial delight. While he beholds them braving the horrors of the desert, the terrors of the savage, the distresses of famine and war, he admires their courage, and is pleased with all their escapes from danger, and all their progress in settlements, population, opulence, liberty, and happiness. While he contemplates their self-denials and perseverance, in surmounting all dangers and enduring all hardships, in turning the wilderness into gardens and fruitful fields, and transmitting liberty and religion to posterity, he is struck with a pleasing astonishment. The pious man views a divine hand conducting the whole, gives thanks, adores, and loves."

Many of the western pioneers were warriors by profession and courted danger for danger's sake. These, on account of their daring intrepidity, were welcome guests wherever they went. Others there were, whose views were more enlarged, and who with equal courage put danger at defiance, keeping a steady eye to push forward the bounds of civilization in the vast wilds of the west. Such were the leaders of the hardy woodsmen, who were engaged in making new settlements on the borders of the river Ohio, and its tributary streams. Some one of these master spirits led the way in each settlement which was made, in spite of the Indians, whose restless and continual incursions caused every cabin to be raised at the risk of life, and every settlement to be made under the most