ioo The Winning of the West 



which on the border of the Indian country sank 

 into mere savagery. 



Kentucky was "a good poor man's country" 16 

 provided the poor man was hardy and vigorous. 

 The settlers were no longer in danger of starvation, 

 for they already raised more flour than they could 

 consume. Neither was there as yet anything ap 

 proaching to luxury. But between these two ex 

 tremes there was almost every grade of misery and 

 well-being, according to the varying capacity shown 

 by the different settlers in grappling with the condi 

 tions of their new life. Among the foreign-born 

 immigrants success depended in part upon race; a 

 contemporary. Kentucky observer estimated that, 

 of twelve families of each nationality, nine German, 

 seven Scotch, and four Irish prospered, while the 

 others failed. 17 The German women worked just 

 as hard as the men, even in the fields, and both sexes 

 were equally saving. Naturally such thrifty immi 

 grants did well materially; but they never took any 

 position of leadership or influence in the community 

 until they had assimilated themselves in speech and 

 customs to their American neighbors. The Scotch 

 were frugal and industrious; for good or for bad 

 they speedily became indistinguishable from the 

 native-born. The greater proportion of failures 

 among the Irish, brave and vigorous though they 

 were, was due to their quarrelsomeness, and their 



16 State Department MSS. Madison Papers. Caleb Wal 

 lace to Madison, July 12, 1785. 



11 "Description of Kentucky," 1792, by Harry Toulmin, 

 Secretary of State. 



