Curiosity is natural to the soul of man, and interesting objects have a
powerful influence on our affections. Let these influencing powers actuate,
by the permission or disposal of Providence, from selfish or social views,
yet in time the mysterious will of Heaven is unfolded, and we behold our
conduct, from whatsoever motives excited, operating to answer the
important designs of heaven. Thus we behold Kentucke, lately an howling
wilderness, the habitation of savages and wild beasts, become a fruitful
field; this region, so favourably distinguished by nature, now become the
habitation of civilization, at a period unparalleled in history, in the midst
of a raging war, and under all the disadvantages of emigration to a country
so remote from the inhabited parts of the continent. Here, where the hand
of violence shed the blood of the innocent; where the horrid yells of
savages, and the groans of the distressed, sounded in our ears, we now
hear the praises and adoration of our Creator; where wretched wigwams
stood, the miserable abodes of savages, we behold the foundations of
cities laid, that, in all probability, will rival the glory of the greatest upon
earth. And we view Kentucke situated on the fertile banks of the great
Ohio, rising from obscurity to shine with splendor, equal to any other of
the stars of the American hemisphere.