The RIVER GAUNTLET
IN 1779, Colonel John Donelson informed the citizens of Halifax County, Virginia, that the government had offered a bounty of land near French Lick on the Cumberland River to any male 21 years of age and upwards who would become a citizen, build a cabin, raise corn and be willing to encounter danger and privations. It was the best of plans; it was the worst of plans! During the summer of 1779, a group of pioneers living near Fort Patrick Henry on the Holston River began meeting to organize their move to a paradise. Their destination held the promise of rich bottom lands that they could own. The location was French Lick, sometimes called French Salt Spring or Big Salt Lick. Longhunters had been to French Lick and had reported that…