124 The Winning of the West 



involve half the people of Kentucky in lawsuits 

 over their land, as there were often two or 

 three titles to each patch, 3 and the surveys crossed 

 each other in hopeless tangles. Immediately, the 

 system gave a great stimulus to immigration, for 

 it made it easy for any incoming settler to get 

 title to his farm, and it also strongly attracted all 

 land speculators. Many well-to-do merchants or 

 planters of the seaboard sent agents out to buy lands 

 in Kentucky; and these agents either hired the old 

 pioneers, such as Boone and Kenton, to locate and 

 survey the lands, or else purchased their claims from 

 them outright. The advantages of following the 

 latter plan were of course obvious ; for the pioneers 

 were sure to have chosen fertile, well-watered spots ; 

 and though they asked more than the State, yet, 

 ready money was so scarce, and the depreciation of 

 the currency so great, that even thus the land only 

 cost a few cents an acre. 4 



3 McAfee MSS. 



4 From the Clay MSS. "Virginia, Frederick Co. to wit: 

 This day came William Smith of [illegible] before me John 

 A. Woodcock, a Justice of the Peace of the same county, who 

 being of full age deposeth and saith that about the first of 

 June, 1780, being in Kentucky and empowered to purchase 

 Land, for Mr. James Ware, he the deponent agreed with a 

 certain Simon Kenton of Kentucky for 1000 Acres of Land 

 about 2 or 3 miles from the big salt spring on Licking, that 

 the sd. Kenton on condition that the ' sd. Smith would pay 

 him ;ioo in hand and ;ioo more when sd. Land was sur- 

 veyed, . . . sd. Kenton on his part wou'd have the land 

 surveyed, and a fee Simple made there to. ... sd. Land 

 was first rate Land and had a good Spring thereon. ... he 

 agreed to warrant and defend the same . . . against all per- 



