EPISODES 455 



computed distance being, as mentioned above, 1650 miles, 

 although the real distance is probably less. I do not 

 remember to have spent a day without meeting with a 

 steamboat, and some days we met several. I might here 

 be tempted to give you a description of one of these 

 steamers of the western waters, but the picture having 

 been often drawn by abler hands, I shall desist. 



KENTUCKY SPORTS 



It may not be amiss, kind reader, before I attempt to 

 give you some idea of the pleasures experienced by the 

 sportsmen of Kentucky, to introduce the subject with a 

 slight description of that State. 



Kentucky was formerly attached to Virginia, but in 

 those days the Indians looked upon that portion of the 

 western wilds as their own, and abandoned the district 

 only when forced to do so, moving with disconsolate 

 hearts farther into the recesses of the unexplored forests. 

 Doubtless the richness of its soil, and the beauty of its 

 borders, situated as they are along one of the most beauti- 

 ful rivers in the world, contributed as much to attract the 

 Old Virginians as the desire, so generally experienced in 

 America, of spreading over the uncultivated tracts, and 

 bringing into cultivation lands that have for unknown ages 

 teemed with the wild luxuriance of untamed nature. The 

 conquest of Kentucky was not performed without many 

 difficulties. The warfare that long existed between the 

 intruders and the Redskins was sanguinary and protracted ; 

 but the former at length made good their footing, and 

 the latter drew off their shattered bands, dismayed by the 

 mental superiority and indomitable courage of the white 

 men. 



This region was probably discovered by a daring hunter, 

 the renowned Daniel Boone. The richness of its soil, its 



