Page:Kentucky Resolutions of 1798.djvu/37



The first settlement effected in Kentucky only dates from 1774. The whole of her growhgrowth [sic] up to 1798 was, therefore, embraced in the brief period of twenty-four years. And in addition to this the dark days of the Revolution almost entirely checked emigration from the older States. Not only were the calls at home all engrossing, but the Indians, under the stimulus of British excitation, were unusually warlike. Thus the first years repeated the old story of frontier struggle. The little ground won was gained hardly and retained by desperate means. But the war once over, a perfect tide of emigration swept over the mountains. The termination of a great war always throws upon a country a band of restless spirits, to whose existence excitement has become well-nigh a necessity. Some escape or some proper application of this spirit is necessary to the peace and well-being of the State. The veterans of the Revolution found