ristic of their new
life; a life in many ways very pleasant, but one which on the border of
the Indian country sank into mere savagery.

Kentucky was "a good poor man's country" [Footnote: State Department
MSS. Madison Papers. Caleb Wallace to Madison, July 12, 1785.] provided
the poor man was hardy and vigorous. The settlers were no longer in
danger of starvation, for they already raised more flour than they could
consume. Neither was there as yet anything approaching to luxury. But
between these two extremes there was almost every grade of misery and
well-being, according to the varying capacity shown by the different
settlers in grappling with the conditions of their new life. Among the
foreign-born immigrants success depended in part upon race; a
contemporary Kentucky observer estimated that, of twelve families of
each nationality, nine German, seven Scotch, and four Irish prospered,
while the others failed. [Footnote: "Description of Kentucky," 1792, by
Harry Toulmin, Secretary of State.] The German women worked just as hard
as the men, even in the fields, and both sexes were equally saving.
Naturally such thrifty immigrants did well materially; but they never
took any position of leadership or influence in the community until they
had assimilated themselves in speech and customs to their American
neighbors. The Scotch were frugal and industrious; for good or for bad
they speedily became indistinguishable from the native-born. The greater
proportion of failures among the Irish, brave and vigorous though they
were, was due to their quarrelsomeness, and their fondness for drink and
litigation; besides, remarks this Kentucky critic, "they soon take to
the gun, which is the ruin of everything." None of these foreign-born
elements were of any very great importance in the development of
Kentucky; its destiny was shaped and controlled by its men of native
stock.

Character of the Frontier Population.

In such a population there was of course much loosening of the bands,
social, political, moral, and religious, which knit a society together.
A great many of the restraints of their old life were thrown off, and
there was much social adjustment and readjustment before their relations
to one another under the new conditions became definitely settled. But
there came early into the land many men of high purpose and pure life
whose influence upon their fellows, though quiet, was very great.
Moreover, the clergyman and the