Page:Kentucky Resolutions of 1798.djvu/40

24 Virginia was always a cherishing mother to Kentucky. The complications did not grow out of conscious neglect and still less out of deliberate oppression. But the difficulties of communication were very great, the wave of immigration had overpassed the mountains and a great uninhabited interval was thus left to make intercourse slow and difficult, and as yet the road was exceedingly dangerous; while to delays and casualties growing out of bad roads and mountain passes, the uncertainties of travel through a country invested by roving bands of hostile savages had to be added. Virginia naturally sometimes lost sight of the peculiar needs of a part of the State so cut off, so badly represented, and so distinct in its needs, in her legislation. Thus little by little complaints arose affecting all branches of the government, judiciary, legislative, and executive, and at last these complaints grew to a demand for complete independence.

The first issue actually raised grew out of military affairs. Kentucky was singularly situated in respect to the Indians. Her territory was almost entirely without permanent settlements. It was a common hunting-ground, abounding in game, and attracting the various tribes from the bordering States to frequent expeditions. Naturally enough collisions were of constant occurrence, and it was almost as much a battle as a hunting-ground, justifying the Indian name which signifies "the dark and bloody ground." This circumstance made it easier to plant the first settlements, since they were made on unoccupied ground, but it made their maintenance