Produced by David Garcia, Ron Stephens and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Library) TO MY CHILDREN EWART, LA VERNE, AND LOIS WHO HAVE EVER BEEN MY INSPIRING AUDIENCE [Illustration: KENTUCKY FROM ITS SETTLEMENT TO THE CIVIL WAR] STORIES OF OLD KENTUCKY BY MARTHA GRASSHAM PURCELL AUTHOR OF "SETTLEMENTS AND CESSIONS OF LOUISIANA" MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION PADUCAH, KENTUCKY [Illustration] AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY MARTHA GRASSHAM PURCELL. COPYRIGHT, 1915, IN GREAT BRITAIN. STORIES OF OLD KENTUCKY. E.P. PREFACE To be easily assimilated, our mental food, like our physical food, should be carefully chosen and attractively served. The history of the "Dark and Bloody Ground" teems with adventure and patriotism. Its pages are filled with the great achievements, the heroic deeds, and the inspiring examples of the explorers, the settlers, and the founders of our state. In the belief that a knowledge of their struggles and conquests is food that is both instructive and inspiring, and with a knowledge that a text on history does not always attract, the author sets before the youth of Kentucky these stories of some of her great men. This book is intended as both a supplementary reader and a text, for, though in story form, the chapters are arranged chronologically, and every fact recorded has been verified. Thanks are due to the many friends who have granted access to papers of historical value, to many others who have assisted in making this book a reality, and especially to my husband, Dr. Clyde Edison Purcell, for his valuable suggestions, careful criticisms, and untiring coöperation. MARTHA GRASSHAM PURCELL. CONTENTS PAGE WHEN THE OCEAN COVERED KENTUCKY 9 THE ABORIGINES OF KENTUCKY 10 SOME PREHISTORIC REMAINS 16 THE DISCOVERY OF KENTUCKY 18 INDIAN CLAIMS IN KENTUCKY 22 SCOUWA 23 THE GRAVEYARD OF THE MAMMOTHS 27 THE DRUID OF KENTUCKY 28 A PIONEER NOBLEMAN 33 EARLY KENTUCKY CUSTOMS 37 BOONE'S ILLUSTRIOUS PEER 41 BOONE'S TRACE 49 BOONE IN CAPTIVITY 52 BOONESBOROUGH'S BRAVE DEFENSE 56 THE LOST BABY 61 THE FIRST ROMANCE IN KENTUCKY 64 A WEDDING IN THE WILDERNESS 67