The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-07-10
REVIEW.

Rebo Ou01as
We are indebted 10 the venerable author fora
copy of his interesting and valuable work. We
never hear Of any Of our Pioneers writing out
their pas, MISUNDERSTANDING early events-oes-
cribiny the country, and its men when they hTst
-misrated, that we do not feel rejoiced, and
ready to bless them, for putting, in enduring
form, facts which will help us to know Sei'sr
than we do the first settlers Of the West.
The Pioneers themselves were too busy 10 do
this as q general rule, and, consequently, we
have from them very few written memoranda
Of the transac tons which took place in the early
settlements" "Had each Of them," says Judge
Burnett, "preserved a sketch, however simple
and concise, of the events Of which he was Psr-
ticipan,, in the order Of their occ urrence, they
would have furnished the material Of one Of the
most interesting and thrilling histories, that has
vet been published" We lament this neglect;
the loss IL has occasoned can never he -emedied.
Judge Burnet wisely cautious us, however.
in our eagerness to obtain information Of the Pio-
neers. not to credit the fabulous stories, and
exaggerated statements, given Of the early ST.
Elements" Better" SAYS he "let il all sink
into oblivion, than palm them on the world AZ
truth true and just remark And the
public owe him their warmcst thanks, for what
he has done, in his collection Of authentic, de-
,ached facts or he calls his book, for his
Notes OH the North western Territory" They
are given with cearness; in a style pure and
simple and will not fail to DO received and read
with interest and profit by all who wish TO un-
derstand the growth Of the West and its early
settlers
| We have felt sometimes as if the history Of the
mid west was all a dream. The stranger may
see in Cincinnati, on any day, wet or dry, hot
or cold, the venerable author Of the book before
us with firm step, and aniIaAted countenance,
walking the streets, and attending STILL to public
business. Yet, in his life, he has seen his coun-
try spring from a wilderness-infancy Z" =
mighty and cultivated manhood. "The emf
grants says Judge Burnet who were in the
territory Of l.1G were few in number, and To-
Gated in different and remote settlements be.
tween which there was but little intercourse"
lie continued
1.-THE country they inhabited was wild and
unc cultivated, and was excluded from the Attain
tic inhabitants bv broad belt Of rugged mouar
tains. equally wild and uncultvated, containlbsR
scarcely the semblance of a road. bridge, fsr0
| or other Improvement, to facilitate interc0u r..
with the Atlantic States. The adjoining re-
gions- every side, were, also, uncultivst-S,
and without commerce, or the means Of creating
it. At that time, the primitive mode Of Transport
A.. L.,
had been but recently exchanged, for the great
er convenience Of the heavy Pennsylvania road
wagon, which wended its way slowly through
the mountains. The country contained neither
shelter nor protection for civilized man nor
had il any thing in the form Of constitution or
law till after the PRONUNCIATION Of the er,iinanc
Of l1s.."
The first emigrants planted th-uis-v-. at the
mouth Of the Muskingum. in the spring Of
liso-seven years after, and the white popula-
ton was 1900: in IsOO, 800. And now look
at it, The broad wall Of rugged mountains be-
tween this and the Atlantic beaten down. or
pierced through, for the Macadamzed road. or
the iron track and its fiery eour,crs. that
Cincinnati is within four days travel Of New
York; the adjoining regions, all around, full Of
commercial arteries; the waters of the Lake and
the Ohio mingling together by two Canals their
shores trod by the iron hoof Of the railway
horse; the telegraph, with its lightning speed
making East and West one; and the mid
west. civilized and cultivated, with its millions
of inhabitants. knit together in so close con-
nection, that We may visit distant and differen,
settlements, in a few DAYS,
And all this change and growth, Judge Bur-
net has witnessed The reality is a marvel
None great has the world before seen.
The early settlers had hard fare. But they
were content with it, and never repined. We
wish we had room TO sketch their indoor and
outdoor life; their perils; their adventures; the
Journeys of the court and bar; their man.
ner of travel; now being ducked in the swolle n
creek. and now threatened with loss Of life by
swimming the larger streams; but We have not
We give ARCHER extract, however, showing how
the best of them Jared when sick. Judge Bur-
net. referring to GRIFFIN YEArxAN's (this vene-
rabe man is still living and is as kind and hu-
name as ever hotel, and his being sick there
SAYS:
lin September, 1896, the writer OF this sketch
had one Of these attacks, (ague and intermittent
fever at the chief hotel Of the village, (Cincin-
natl now having probably 10000 sOuls,) ow ned
and kept BY Griffin Yeatman, an early emigrani
from Virginia. His bed stood in a large room
neither lathed nor plastered, originally intended,
and occasionally used, for ball room; hut or
dinarily occupied the common dormitory OF
the establishment. At the time referred to, there
! was fifteen sixteen others lying sick in the
same room, which gave il very much the appear
ance of a hospital. Unpleasant as the condition
of these invalids was, not a murmur Of COM
plant was head. Most of them had been ac-
customed to very different accommodations in
sickness, but they knew they well pro-
vded for, and attended TO, as circumstances
would permit and were therefore contented.''
In 1873. Gen. Wilkinson made Cincinnati hi.
headquarters; but Capt. Harrison (the late
President) was in command. The effect Of the
troops upon the early settlers was had. Idle
ness, drunkenness, and gambling" SAYS the
Judge. prevailed in the army, to a greater ex-
ten, than il has done at any subsequent period. -
a large proportion Of the officers under Gems
Wayne and Wilkinson crank to excess. Hsr-
rison. Clarke, Shornbery, Ford. Strong, and a
few others, were the only exceptions. The
citizens were LED to indulge in the same practi-
ces. and to form the same habits. Out Of nine
resident lawyers in Cincinnati, when Judge Bur.
net came to the bar, he is, and has been for years
the only survivor; they all died sots, except his
brother. who was carried off by Consumption