ere stationed
at such points in the neighborhood as afforded the best opportunity
for descrying the approach of Indians, and the watch was most careful.
When those employed in hunting (for every community had its hunters)
discovered, or thought they had discovered signs of the presence of
the savages, scouts were immediately sent out to discover if they were
lurking anywhere in the neighborhood. This was the most arduous and
perilous duty of the pioneers, and not unfrequently the scout, or spy
as he was usually termed, went to return no more. When seed-time came,
corn, a small patch of cotton and another of flax were planted, and
cultivation continued under the same surveillance.

The dog, always the companion of man, was carefully trained to search
for the prowling Indians; and by daylight every morning the clearing,
as the open lands were universally termed; was passed around by a
cautious scout, always preceded by his dogs, who seemed as conscious
of their duty and as faithful in its discharge as was their master. If
he reported no Indians, the work of cultivation commenced, and the
sentinels repaired to their posts. These were usually changed whenever
the slightest sign of Indians anywhere in the country could be found,
lest their posts might have been found and marked, and ambushed at
night. Yet, despite this prudent caution, many a sentinel perished at
his post. The unerring arrow gave no alarm, and the sentinel slain,
opened an approach for the savages; and not unfrequently parties at
labor were thus surprised and shot in full view of those in the fort.

Occasionally an emigrant brought with him a slave or two: these were
rich, and invariably were the leading men in the communities. Those
from Virginia were more frequently possessed of this species of
property than those from the Carolinas, and, coming from an older
country, had generally enjoyed better opportunities and were more
cultivated. A common necessity harmonized all, and the state of
society was a pure democracy. These communities were usually from
twenty to fifty miles apart, and about them a nucleus was formed,
inviting those who sought the new country for a home to locate in the
immediate vicinity. Security and the enjoyment of social intercourse
were more frequently the incentives for these selections than the
fertility of the soil or other advantages. One peculiarity was
observable, which their descendants, in their emigration to the West,
contin