land they were competent to govern both it and themselves.  They were the first to do what the whole nation has since done.  It has often been said that we owe all our success to our surroundings; that any race with our opportunities could have done as well as we have done.  Undoubtedly our opportunities have been great; undoubtedly we have often and lamentably failed in taking advantage of them.  But what nation ever has done all that was possible with the chances offered it?  The Spaniards, the Portuguese, and the French, not to speak of the Russians in Siberia, have all enjoyed, and yet have failed to make good use of, the same advantages which we have turned to good account.  The truth is, that in starting a new nation in a new country, as we have done, while there are exceptional chances to be taken advantage of, there are also exceptional dangers and difficulties to be overcome.  None but heroes can succeed wholly in the work.  It is a good thing for us at times to compare what we have done with what we could have done, had we been better and wiser; it may make us try in the future to raise our abilities to the level of our opportunities.  Looked at absolutely, we must frankly acknowledge that we have fallen very far short indeed of the high ideal we should have reached.  Looked at relatively, it must also be said that we have done better than any other nation or race working under our conditions.

The Watauga settlers outlined in advance the nation’s work.  They tamed the rugged and shaggy wilderness, they bid defiance to outside foes, and they successfully solved the difficult problem of self-government.

1.  Then called the Cherokee.

2.  Volumes could be filled—­and indeed it is hardly too much to say, have been filled—­with worthless “proofs” of the ownership of Iroquois, Shawnees, or Cherokees, as the case might be.  In truth, it would probably have been difficult to get any two members of the same tribe to have pointed out with precision the tribal limits.  Each tribe’s country was elastic, for it included all lands from which it was deemed possible to drive out the possessors.  In 1773 the various parties of Long Hunters had just the same right to the whole of the territory in question that the Indians themselves had.

3.  Campbell MSS.

“The first settlers on Holston River were a remarkable race of people for their intelligence, enterprise, and hardy adventure.  The greater portion of them had emigrated from the counties of Botetourt, Augusta, and Frederick, and others along the same valley, and from the upper counties of Maryland and Pennsylvania were mostly descendants of Irish stock, and generally where they had any religious opinions, were Presbyterians.  A very large proportion were religious, and many were members of the church.  There were some families, however, and amongst the most wealthy, that were extremely wild and dissipated in their habits.