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34 The Kentucky Anthology Gilbert Imlay from Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America The life of Gilbert Imlay, another early visitor to Kentucky, reads like an adventure novel. A native of New Jersey and a veteran of the American Revolution, he came to Louisville in 1784 and failed as a land speculator. He left in 1792 and moved to London, where he published his Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America, one of the most readable and accurate descriptions of early Kentucky life. His novel, The Emigrants, published in London in 1793, is the sentimental story of an English merchant and his family who move to Louisville. In a series of letters the novel tells of the hardships they experience on the rough frontier, including his daughter’s capture by the Indians and her eventual rescue. It is usually accorded the honor of being called the first Kentucky novel. The excerpt below, from his first book, describes early Kentucky “stations,” or small settlements, the log houses, the soil, the domestic animals and crops, and country amusements. h In some of my first letters I gave you an account of the first settlement of this country. The perturbed state of that period, and the savage state of the country, which was one entire wilderness, made the object of the first emigrants that of security and sustenance, which produced the scheme of several families living together in what were called Stations. These stations were a kind of quadrangular, or sometimes oblong forts, formed by building log-houses connectedly only leaving openings for gate-ways to pass as they might have occasion. They were generally fixed in a favourable situation for water, and in a body of good land. Frequently the head of some party of connections who had a settlement and pre-emption right, seized upon these opportunities to have his land cleared, which was necessary for the support of the station; for, it was not only prudent to keep close in their forts at times, but it was also necessary to keep their horses and cows up, otherwise the Indians would carry off the horses, and shoot and destroy the cattle. Under such circumstances, the first settlement of Kentucky was formed, which soon opened a considerable quantity of land in the county of Lincoln, which lies in the upper part of the state, and contiguous to the wilderness, which ends in this delectable region. 34 The author’s name 35 As the country gained strength, the stations began to break up in that part of the country, and their inhabitants to spread themselves, and settle upon their respective estates. But the embarrassment they were in for most of the conveniences of life, did not admit of their building any other houses but of logs, and of opening fields in the most expeditious way for planting the Indian corn; the only grain which was cultivated at that time. A log-house is very soon erected, and in consequence of the friendly disposition which exists among those hospitable people, every neighbour flew to the assistance of each other upon occasions of emergency. Sometimes they were built of round logs entirely, covered with rived ash shingles, and the interstices stopped with clay, or lime and sand, to keep out the weather. The next object was to open the land for cultivation. There is very little under-wood in any part of this country, so that by cutting up the cane, and girdling the trees, you are sure of a crop of corn. The fertility of the soil amply repays the labourer for his toil; for if the large trees are not very numerous , and a large proportion of them the sugar maple, it is very likely from this imperfect cultivation, that the ground will yield from 50 to 60 bushels of corn to the acre. The second crop will be more ample; and as the shade is removed by cutting the timber away, great part of our land will produce from 70 to 100 bushels of corn from an acre. This extraordinary fertility enables the farmer who has but a small capital to increase his wealth in a most rapid manner (I mean by wealth the comforts of life). His cattle and hogs will find sufficient food in the woods, not only for them to subsist upon, but to fatten them. His horses want no provender the greatest part of the year except cane and wild clover; but he...

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