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 thus to reach the place
of settlement in time to make ready for those coming by water.
Robertson and his men arrived about Christmas. Then began a tedious four
months of waiting for the others. It was springtime again, April 24, when
they at last arrived. Their roundabout route had taken them down the
Tennessee River, then up the Ohio, and lastly up the Cumberland.
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