Page:Annals of Augusta County.djvu/29

Rh afterward, a flood of immigrants poured into the country. There was no landlord or proprietor to parcel out the domain; the land was all before them where to choose, and for several years the settlers helped themselves to homes without let or hindrance. It is believed that all the earliest settlers came from Pennsylvania and up the Valley of the Shenandoah. It was several years before any settlers entered the Valley from the east, and through the gaps in the Blue Ridge. We may accompany, in imagination, these immigrants on their way from the settlements north of the Potomac, through the wilderness to their future homes. There was, of course, no road, and for the first comers no path to guide their steps, except, perhaps, the trail of the Indian or buffalo. They came at a venture, climbing the hills, fording the creeks and rivers, and groping through the forests. At night they rested on the ground, with no roof over them but the broad expanse of heaven. After selecting a spot for a night's bivouac, and tethering their horses, fire was kindled by means of flint and steel, and their frugal meal was prepared. Only a scanty supply of food was brought along, for, as game abounded, they mainly "subsisted off the country." Before lying down to rest, many of them did not omit to worship the God of their fathers and invoke His guidance and protection. The moon and stars looked down peacefully as they slumbered, while bears, wolves and panthers prowled around. It was impossible to bring wagons, and all their effects were transported on horseback. The list of articles was meagre enough. Clothing, some bedding, guns and ammunition, a few cooking utensils, seed corn, axes, saws, &c., and the Bible, were indispensable, and were transported at whatever cost of time and labor. Houses and furniture had to be provided after the place of settlement was fixed upon. In the meanwhile there was no shelter from rain and storm. The colonial government encouraged the settlement of the Valley as a means of protecting the lower country from Indian incursions. The settlers were almost exclusively of the Scotch-Irish race, natives of the north of Ireland, but of Scottish ancestry. Most of those who came during the first three or four decades were Dissenters from the Church of England, of the Presbyterian faith, and victims of religious persecution in their native land. They were generally a profoundly religious people, bringing the Bible with them, whatever they