104 The Winning of the West 



as any ever waged among the cave-dwellers of the 

 Stone Age. 



The opinion of any mere passer through a coun 

 try is always less valuable than that of an intelligent 

 man who dwells and works among the people, and 

 who possesses both insight and sympathy. At this 

 time one of the recently created Kentucky judges, 

 an educated Virginian, in writing to his friend 

 Madison, said: "We are as harmonious amongst 

 ourselves as can be expected of a mixture of people 

 from various States and of various Sentiments and 

 Manners not yet assimilated. In point of Morals 

 the bulk of the inhabitants are far superior to what 

 I expected to find in any new settled country. We 

 have not had a single instance of Murder, and but 

 one Criminal for Felony of any kind has yet been 

 before the Supreme Court. I wish I could say as 

 much to vindicate the character of our Land-jobbers. 

 This business has been attended with much villainy 

 in other parts. Here it is reduced to a system, and 

 to take the advantage of the ignorance or of the pov 

 erty of a neighbor is almost grown into reputa 

 tion." 22 



Of course, when the fever for land speculation 

 raged so violently, many who had embarked too 

 eagerly in the purchase of large tracts became land 

 poor; Clark being among those who found that 

 though they owned great reaches of fertile wild 

 land they had no means whatever of getting 



88 Wallace's letter, above quoted. 



