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Page 33
There were much older men at Watauga than either Sevier or
Robertson,--one of whom was now only twenty-eight and the other
thirty,--but they had from the first been recognized as natural leaders.
These two events--the building of the fort and the Cherokee mission,
which displayed Sevier's uncommon military genius and Robertson's
ability and address as a negotiator--elevated them still higher in the
regard of their associates, and at once the cares and responsibilities
of leadership in both civil and military affairs were thrust upon them.
But Sevier, with a modesty which he showed throughout his whole career,
whenever it was necessary that one should take precedence of the other,
always insisted upon Robertson's having the higher position; and so it
was that in the military company which was now formed Sevier, who had
served as a captain under Dunmore, was made lieutenant, while Robertson
was appointed captain.
The Watauga community had been till now living under no organized
government. This worked very well so long as the newly-arriving
immigrants were of the class which is "a law unto itself;" but when
another class came in,--men fleeing from debt in the older settlements
or hoping on the remote and inaccessible frontier to escape the penalty
of their crimes,--some organization which should have the sanction of
the whole body of settlers became necessary. Therefore, speaking in the
language of Sevier, they, "by consent of the people, formed a court,
taking the Virginia laws as a guide, as near as the situation of affairs
would admit."
The settlers met in convention at the fort, and selected thirteen of
their number to draft articles of association for the management of the
colony. From these thirteen, five (among whom were Sevier and Robertson)
were chosen commissioners, and to them was given power to adjudicate
upon all matters of controversy and to adopt and direct all measures
having a bearing upon the peace, safety, good order, and well-being of
the community. By them, in the language of the articles, "all things
were to be settled."
These articles of association were the first compact of civil government
anywhere west of the Alleghanies. They were adopted in 1772, three years
prior to the association formed for Kentucky "under the great elm-tree
outside of the fort at Boonesboro." The simple government thus
established was sufficient to secure good order in the colony for
several years following.
Now ensued four more years of uninterrupted peace and prosperity, during
which the settlement increased greatly in numbers and extended its
borders in all directions. The Indians, true to their pledges to
Robertson, continued friendly, though suffering frequently from the
depredations of lawless white men from the old settlements. These were
reckless, desperate characters, who had fled from the order and law of
established society to find freedom for unbridled license in the new
community. Driven out by the Watauga settlers, they herded together in
the wilderness, where they subsisted by hunting and fishing and preying
upon the now peaceable Cherokees. They were an annoyance to both the
peaceable white man and the red; but at length, when the Indians showed
feelings of hostility, they became a barrier between the savages and the
industrious cultivators of the soil, and thus unintentionally
contributed to the well-being of the Watauga community.
No event materially affecting the interests of the colony occurred
during the four years following Robertson's visit to the Cherokees at
Echota. The battles of Lexington and Concord had been fought, but the
shot which was "heard round the world" did not echo till months
afterward in that secluded hamlet on the Watauga. But when it did
reverberate amid those old woods, every backwoodsman sprang to his feet
and asked to be enrolled to rush to the rescue of his countrymen on the
seaboard. His patriotism was not stimulated by British oppression, for
he was beyond the reach of the "king's minions." He had no grievances to
complain of, for he drank no tea, used no stamps, and never saw a
tax-gatherer. It was the "glorious cause of liberty," as Sevier
expressed it, which called them all to arms to do battle for freedom and
their countrymen.
"A company of fine riflemen was accordingly enlisted, and embodied at
the expense and risque of their private fortunes, to act in defence of
the common cause on the sea-shore."[001] But before the volunteers could
be despatched over the mountains it became apparent that their services
would be needed at home for the defence of the frontier against the
Indians.
Through the trader Isaac Thomas it soon became known to the settlers
that Cameron, the British agent, was among the Cherokees, endeavoring to
incite them to hostilities against the Americans. At first the Indians
resisted the enticements--the hopes of spoil and plunder and the
recovery of their hunting-grounds--which Cameron held out to them. They
could not understand how men of the same race and language could be at
war with one another. It was never so known in Indian tradition. But
soon--late in 1775--an event occurred which showed that the virus spread
among them by the crafty Scotchman had begun to work, at least with the
younger braves, and that it might at any moment break out among the
whole nation. A trader named Andrew Grear, who lived at Watauga, had
been at Echota. He had disposed of his wares, and was about to return
with the furs he had taken in exchange, when he perceived signs of
hostile feeling among some of the young warriors, and on his return,
fearing an ambuscade on the great war-path, he left it before he reached
the crossing at the French Broad, and went homeward by a less-frequented
trail along the Nolachucky. Two other traders, named Boyd and Dagget,
who left Echota on the following day, pursued the usual route, and were
waylaid and murdered at a small stream which has ever since borne the
name of Boyd's Creek. In a few days their bodies were found, only half
concealed in the shallow water; and as the tidings flew among the
scattered settlements they excited universal alarm and indignation.
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