Young Folks' History of the United States (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 Excerpt: ...slaves with them. They were stoutly resisted by the Indians; and a long series of conflicts followed, from which came the name by which that region was long known, "The Dark and Bloody Ground." The Spanish Government tried at one time to induce the Kentuckians to declare themselves independent of the Union, and then to join Louisiana, which still belonged to Spain. But all these efforts failed, and the "Dark and Bloody Ground" became one of the United States. The name Kentucky is said to mean "Long River." Tennessee came into the Union next, in 1796. This part of the country had been explored much earlier than Kentucky, and had, probably, been visited by De Soto long before the settlement of the more eastern States. De Soto was probably the first European to conduct a party of men to the Mississippi River, or the " Hidden River," or " Inland Sea," as it was then often called; and he had marched with his troops and cannon, for weeks, through wildernesses before unexplored. When he died of fever at last, in 1542, his soldiers wished to secure his remains against the Indians: so they hollowed the trunk of an old tree, placed his body in it, and sunk it in a deep part of the Mississippi River. But, for a long time afterwards, that part of the country was almost unvisited by white men, and the land was occupied more slowly than in Kentucky. The settlers came chiefly from North Carolina; and for a time their settlements were considered a part of that colony. At one time the people became dissatisfied, and tried to establish a separate State, under the name of Franklin; but the project was given up, and, after various changes, that whole region was admitted as one of the United States under the name of Tennessee; t...