Excerpt from Biographical Sketches of General Nathaniel Massie, General Duncan McArthur, Captain William Wells, and General Simon Kenton: Who Were Early Settlers in the Western Country
In presenting the reader with the following narratives of the distinguished men whose characters are attempted to be delineated, no apology is deemed necessary. The subject is one in which all men, who love to see portrayed from the stump, the rise, and progressive improvements of our country, must feel a lively interest. Is there a man whose feelings are so obtuse, as not to follow General Massie and his compatriots, with intense anxiety, through the wilderness, surveying the country, and forming new settlements in the midst of dangers and difficulties the most appalling? if such there be, I envy him not his insensible stupidity.
The defects in the composition, none will more sincerely deplore than myself; and I regret, more than any other can, that my attainments as an author are not more fully equal to the subjects on which Oi have treated.
I have endured more pain, from diffidence and even timidity, in presenting myself to the public as an author, than I have suffered from fear in the most dangerous situation. It must appear novel to see a man over sixty years of age, without any of the advantages of education, having but little leisure, and always hard pressed to secure a living, turn his attention to the labor of composition in the evening of life. Under these disadvantageous circumstances, little eclat is expected; if humble mediocrity is allowed I will be content. I took up my pen to rescue from oblivion the names of men who "have done some service to the state."
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