2 The Winning of the West 



there was marrying and giving in marriage, and chil- 

 dren were born in Kentucky. The newcomers had 

 to settle in forts, where the young men and maidens 

 had many chances for courtship. They married 

 early, and were as fruitful as they were hardy. 1 

 Most of these marriages were civil contracts, but 

 some may have been solemnized by clergymen, for 

 the commonwealth received from the outset occa- 

 sional visits from ministers. 



These ministers belonged to different denomina- 

 tions, but were all sure of a hearing. The back- 

 woodsmen were forced by their surroundings to ex- 

 ercise a grudging charity toward the various forms 

 of religious belief entertained among themselves 

 though they hated and despised French and Span- 

 ish Catholics. When off in the wilderness they were 

 obliged to take a man for what he did, not for what 

 he thought. Of course there were instances to the 

 contrary, and there is an amusing and authentic 

 story of two hunters, living alone and far from any 

 settlement, who quarreled because one was a Catholic 

 and the other a Protestant. The seceder took up 

 his abode in a hollow tree within speaking distance 

 of his companion's cabin. Every day on arising 

 they bade each other good-morning ; but not another 

 word passed between them for the many months 

 during which they saw no other white face. 2 There 

 was a single serious and important, albeit only par- 



1 Imlay, p. 55, estimated that from natural increase the 

 population of Kentucky doubled every fifteen years, prob- 

 ably an exaggeration. 



2 Kale's "Trans- Alleghany Pioneers," p. 251. 



