and was to be the victor over her only enemy among the nations of the world. He was all his life the most American of Amer icans—the Declaration of Independence on horseback, "the Fourth of July incarnate." At twenty, Alexander the Great set out to conquer the world. His sword was his weapon, hope his guide, courage his capital. At twenty, Andrew Jackson set out to con quer a place for himself in the world; he had little education, a small stock of law, nothing from fortune; but he had the strength of youth, a heart that knew no fear, a soul of honor, and the resolution never to turn back until success crowned his efforts. While the present State of Tennessee formed the western boundary of North Caro lina, Jackson's friend, John 'McNairy, was appointed judge of the Superior Court for this western circuit. Our young lawyer was appointed solicitor, or public prosecutor, for the same district; another friend was made clerk of the court, and three or four others determined to join the party; and in the sum mer of 1788 the whole cavalcade, judge, so licitor, clerk and lawyers, left Morgantown, on the western frontier of North Carolina, and wended their way through the mountains to Jonesboro, Tennessee. Having rested there a few days, the party started for Nash ville, where they arrived after incredible hardships, and passing through dangers from savage beasts and no less savage Indians. When Andrew Jackson plunged into the wilds of Tennessee, he was astonished to find a large accumulation of law business await ing him. A court house and jail were the first buildings erected in the western settle ments of America, and it may be interesting to give a description of the early court house in Tennessee in which Andrew Jackson began to practise law. It was a log house, eighteen feet square, scantily furnished with benches, table and bar. This was a superior sort of building compared with the majority of court houses in the western country, in
which Andrew Jackson practised law for ten years, and laid the foundation of his fame and fortune. He arrived in West Tennessee at a fortunate time for securing a large and profitable business. The principal law busi ness in those early days was collecting debts, and he soon showed that he was the right man in the right place, for he was perfectly fearless in issuing and in serving writs. All of the merchants in Nashville had bad debts, which they put into his hands to collect, and he performed the business with a promptness that established his reputation as a lawyer. Within a month after his arrival in Nash ville, he had issued seventy summonses to delinquent debtors. After this auspicious be ginning, he soon acquired an extensive prac tice. The law records of Tennessee show that he attended every court of the State. At the April term of the court held at Nashville, in 1790, in a docket of one hundred and fiftyfive cases, Jackson was counsel in seventytwo. In the four terms of 1794, there were three hundred and ninety-seven cases before the same court, in two hundred and twentyeight of which Jackson was counsel. The courts were held at places so distant that half of his time must have been spent on horse back, traveling from place to place, in peril of his life from the Indians. He had many narrow escapes from the savages, and slept often in the forest, in danger from the wild beasts which infested the country. On one occasion, when he had to make a journey be tween Nashville and Jonesboro, he reached the place of meeting after the rest of the party had started. Obtaining a guide, he set out in pursuit, rode all night, and at day break reached the camp-fire, but his friends had left. Continuing the journey, he discov ered Indian tracks in the road, and, with his knowledge of woodcraft, he saw that the sav ages outnumbered the whites, and that the foe were only a short distance ahead. The guide declined to go further, and Jackson determined', to save his friends, or perish in
