e knew from just
which loophole he was to shoot if the Indians attacked the fort, and he
took pride in becoming a good marksman. He was carefully trained, too, to
follow an Indian trail and to conceal his own when on the war-path--for
such knowledge would be very useful to him as a hunter and fighter in the
forests.

ROBERTSON A BRAVE LEADER

Such was the life of these early woodsmen and their families, and to this
life Robertson and those who went out with him soon became accustomed. On
their arrival at the Watauga River the newcomers mingled readily with the
Virginians already on the ground.

Robertson soon became one of the leading men. His cabin of logs stood on
an island in the river, and is said to have been the largest in the
settlement. It had a log veranda in front, several rooms, a loft, and best
of all, a huge fireplace made of sticks and stones laid in clay, in which
a pile of blazing logs roared on cold days, making it a centre of good
cheer as well as of heat. To us it would have been a most inviting spot
for a summer holiday.

Robertson was very prosperous and successful at Watauga; but in 1799,
after ten years of leadership at this settlement, a restless craving for
change and adventure stole over him, and he went forth once more into the
wilderness to seek a new home still deeper in the forest.

The place he chose was the beautiful country lying along the great bend of
the Cumberland River, where Nashville now stands. Many bold settlers were
ready and even eager to join Robertson in the new venture, for he was a
born leader.

A small party went ahead early in the spring to plant corn, so that the
settlers might have food when they arrived in the autumn. Robertson and
eight other men, who made up the party, left the Watauga by the Wilderness
Road through Cumberland Gap, crossing the Cumberland River. Then,
following the trail of wild animals in a southwesterly direction, they
came to a suitable place.

Here they put up cabins and planted corn, and then, leaving three men to
keep the buffaloes from eating the corn when it came up, the other six
returned to Watauga.

In the autumn two parties started out for the new settlement. One of
these, made up mostly of women and children, went by water in flatboats,
dugouts, and canoes, a route supposed to be easier though much the longer
of the two. Whether it was easier, we shall see. The other party,
including Robertson himself, went by land, hoping t